Mercer Family Snapshots
by TheImmortalChaplin
Summary: They weren't going to go easy on her just because she was a girl. Growing up the youngest of four brothers made her tough...but most importantly, proud to be a Mercer. Premovie, sister-fic. Series of related one-shots
1. C1: Nudists and the Long Walk of Payback

**So I'm excited to see that people are still writing Four Brothers fics even though the film is a few years old, so I decided to write a little something. The following is pre-movie and the brothers have a younger sister. Yeah yeah, everyone makes sister fics, but hey, they're fun to read! I've decided to make a series of one-shots focusing on the sister's adventures and perhaps misadventures with her four brothers. I've got about 5 ½ chapters already planned out and keep consistently thinking of more ideas. Most will be humorous, like this first chapter. Just want everyone to know that there isn't really a plot to this story. Just several one-shot snapshots into the lives of the Mercers!**

**The ages aren't really too important, but just for a reference, I'm guessing to be something like this: Bobby-23, Jerry-22, Angel-20, Jack-18, SydneyOC-16.**

**Rated for language.**

**Hope you like!**

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**Chapter 1: Nudists and the Long Walk of Payback**

The bathroom: The one room in a house where a person was entitled to a little privacy. In the Mercer household, however, that never seemed to be the case. With six people sharing one bathroom, privacy was a rarity. Sydney Mercer should have known that today was no exception.

Sitting on the toilet, the bathroom door opened and her oldest brother, Bobby, came in. Without so much as acknowledging her, he started taking off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Sydney asked in disbelief. Couldn't he see that she was going to the bathroom?

"I'm taking a shower." Bobby replied nonchalantly, next pulling off his socks.

"Can't you wait five seconds until I'm done?" She asked, annoyed at his impatience and disregard for her privacy.

"I gotta get in the shower now. Who knows how long you're going to be in here taking your shit."

"For your information, I was pissing. So get out and wait your turn. I'm almost done!" Why did brothers have to be so difficult?

"Well then, fucking wipe and get out of here." Bobby told her, the permanent scowl on his face deepening as he now stood in his boxers. He wasn't one to back down.

She sent a glare his way, "No, I was in here first." Bobby simply shrugged, turning his back to her, "Not my problem." He told her, dropping his drawers as Sydney quickly looked away, "Jesus!" Didn't anyone know the term modesty anymore? People just dropping their pants like it were nothing. He was an adult; she could sue him for 'indecent exposure to a minor' right? Once Bobby was safely in the shower and out of eyesight, Sydney quickly finished, going to the sink to wash her hands.

"You're an asshole, you know that right?" She called over both the running water of the shower as well as the sink. She was pretty sure she called him that at least once a day. It was nice to get the 'asshole formalities' out of the way early in the morning so she didn't have to worry about it later.

"Hey, I'm just exercising my older brother authority. You have to listen to what I say, not the other way around." Bobby retorted through the shower. Sydney shut off the water on the sink and went to dry her hands, her curiosity peaked, "And why's that?" She asked and Bobby didn't hesitate to answer, "Because otherwise I'd kick your ass."

Sydney rolled her eyes and smirked. A typical Bobby answer. He wasn't the biggest of her four brothers, but he was definitely the most violent. He'd fight tooth and nail to protect those he cared about, but he would also knock someone in the jaw just for the fuck of it.

"Now get the hell out of here so I can take a shower!" He quickly added and although she couldn't see him, she was sure an arrogant smirk sat on his lips.

It was moments like these that opportunities for payback seemed to fall in one's lap. Sydney looked at the two bath towels hanging from the towel rack and quickly snatched them, leaving one small facecloth hanging there. She next went to the pile of Bobby's discarded clothes sitting on the floor, grabbing those as well.

Looking around the bathroom once more, she quickly left the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Walking down the hall to Bobby's room, she tossed the clothes and towels inside, it landing in a heap in the middle of his room.

Next was the linen closet that was located next to the bathroom. Opening it up, she grabbed all of the towels from it and then added them to the small pile in Bobby's room.

She grinned in satisfaction at her work before clicking the lock on Bobby's bedroom door and shutting it behind her. She jiggled on the handle for a moment, making sure it was locked before triumphantly heading back to her own bedroom. Sure she couldn't physically beat Bobby, but she could always outsmart him.

In her room, Sydney gathered her things in her backpack, glancing at the clock, the time telling her that her friends should be by soon to pick her up for school. It was only recently that her mom, Evelyn, had started to allow Sydney to ride to school with her friends. She had had some problems in the past with saying she was going to school but not actually going. Once Ma found out, Sydney was driven to school every day by her until recently when Ma started trusting her again. Sydney wasn't an angel. If she was, then she wouldn't be a Mercer.

A few minutes later, Sydney made her way downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Mornin' Ma." She greeted her mother as she grabbed a granola bar to eat on the way. Evelyn looked up from the newspaper she was reading, giving her a loving smile, "Good morning dear. Need a ride?"

Sydney shook her head, "Nah, Sarah and Rachel are picking me up." She told her, mentioning two of her best friends. Evelyn gave her a stern look before responding, "Just make sure you make it there." Sydney knew she was referring to her past school ditching, but before Sydney could reply, her mother gave her a knowing smile and a quick wink.

Shouting suddenly erupted from upstairs and Sydney knew that Bobby must have gotten out of the shower. She silently sniggered as a car horn honked from outside, signaling that her ride had arrived.

Evelyn looked a little alarmed as she stood from her seat to make sure her son was ok. "I'm sure he's fine. See ya, love ya! Bye!" Sydney said quickly as she heard stomping coming down the stairs.

She had almost made it to the front door when Bobby appeared, his eyes flashed in rage as he pointed at her, "You!" The scene must have looked very comical. Ma stared at Bobby horrified. Bobby was seeing red as he stood on the staircase, butt-naked and dripping wet, holding the small facecloth in front of his junk, and Sydney tried to hold back a laugh while at the same time terrified for her life.

The car honked once more.

"There's my ride! Gotta go! And Bobby, this isn't a French beach, put some clothes on." Ok, so she probably shouldn't have provoked him any further because a split second later, he bolted from his spot, birthday suit and all, and ran after her. "I'm going to murder you!" Aren't siblings so nice?

Sydney took off like a rabbit, managing to make it to the front door and outside to her friend's car. Jumping in, she shut the door and quickly locked it before looking to see Bobby now standing at the front steps yelling obscenities at her. It was late October and snow already blanketed the ground; the idiot couldn't catch her, but he sure as hell was going to catch pneumonia. He wouldn't be able to blame her if he got sick; it wasn't like she forced him to go outside in the nude.

Her two friends, Rachel and Sarah, stared stunned at Bobby before cracking up. Rachel rolled down the window, shouting at him, "I know you gotta account for shrinkage, but damn…it's not _that _cold!"

Sydney's eyes widened, "Shut up!" She yelled in mid-laugh. "Oh fuck, Go!" Sarah slammed her foot to the accelerator as Bobby, very menacingly, started making his way towards the car. Eventually they where far enough away that they couldn't hear his death threats anymore. The three girls began cracking up, laughing so hard that they had to wipe tears from their eyes. Sydney knew payback was coming and that she should be deathly afraid for her life, but right now it was nice to sit back and enjoy her handy work. After all, what were little sisters for?

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Later, After School-

"No, I swear to you! Mr. Thompson and Mrs. O'Hare are having an affair! Think about _that_ next time you're trying to eat. I'll give you 20 bucks if you don't throw up." Laughter erupted as Sydney and a few friends left school for the day, gossiping about their teachers.

"Hey Syd. Isn't that your brother?" One friend asked, pointing in front of them. Sydney looked and her stomach dropped. About a block and a half away was Bobby, running full speed towards her. Thank god he found some clothes. He was closing in fast so she didn't have much time to pull her pleading explanation and apology together, but she did her best.

"Whoa, whoa!" She began backing up to create more distance between them, "Hey! Bobby! Wait a minute!" He didn't slow down. "Let's talk! I see you found some clothes…fuck..About that! Um…I just want you to know that you are the greatest brother to ever li—OOF!" She landed hard as Bobby tackled her to the ground. A second later she was met with a face full of snow as Bobby whitewashed her, "You. Little. Shit!" He enunciated every word as he grabbed another fistful of snow and repeated the process.

He finally got up from her, Sydney trying to catch her breath, her face stinging from the cold snow. She was quickly yanked up by her jacket and shoved roughly forward. "We're going home." Bobby growled as he followed behind her. She didn't dare say a word, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from making a nudist joke.

They made it to Bobby's parked car. Sydney began opening the passenger door but Bobby came up behind her, locked it, and slammed it back shut. "You're walking." He informed her as he got in the driver's side. She looked at him in disbelief, "What the hell?" She tried to open the door again even though she knew he had locked it. Bobby leaned over from his seat, opening the passenger window just a crack, "Sucks to have a locked door, huh?" He smirked before started his car.

"Seriously Bobby, its two and a half goddamn miles! And it's freezing!" She whined childishly, not particularly wanting to walk all the way back home.

"Awww," Bobby cooed mockingly, "Is the princess gunna catch a cold? My heart is breaking." He let out a little laugh before putting his car in gear, "Let's go!" He told her, lifting his foot from the break so the car slowly started to roll forward. Sydney ignored him and began her walk, not going to acknowledge him as she waited for him to drive off. Much to her dismay, however, as she walked, he slowly drove along side her. "Better pick up the pace Syd! Wouldn't want you to get frost bite."

He continued to taunt her all the way until they made it home. Bobby parked and got out of the car, Sydney ignored him the whole time. "And you best believe you're gunna be fixing my bedroom door." He told her before walking ahead of her into the house.

Sydney grumbled annoyed as she followed behind him and upstairs without a word. She couldn't help to laugh, however, when she saw Bobby's room. The door was completely off the hinges and looked liked he had kicked it in. Hadn't he ever heard of picking a lock? Leave it to hothead to bust down the damn door. But it was all sooo worth it. After all, what are little sisters for?

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**Well hope you liked it. This chapter was obviously very Bobby-OC centered, and the next one with be mostly her and Jack. Got a funny little idea cooking for them. Let me know what you think! Any ideas you would like to see in a future chapter? Hit me up! If you don't review, you might find the Michigan Mauler at your doorstep...whether he'll be clothed or not is irrelevant...**


	2. C2:Five Minutes of LivingRoom Rock Fame

**Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this next chapter. I would recommend listening to Kansas 'Carry on Wayward Son' while reading to get you in the mood! Lol :P**

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Chapter 2: Five Minutes of Living-Room Rock Fame

It was a Saturday afternoon and Sydney found herself stuck in the house, flipping through the channels on the TV as she waited for anyone to come home. While everyone else in her family was off doing their own things today, she was sitting here watching TV. Man, did she feel like a loser.

After going through the whole channel list multiple times, she turned off the TV and decided to call up a friend. Before she could even get off the couch, the front door slammed open and in walked a very pissed off looking Jack.

"Hey…how'd it go?" Sydney asked carefully, the expression on his face telling her the answer already. Jack stomped into the living room, plopping himself next to her on the couch as he held his face in his hands for a moment before looking back at her, the anger clear in his eyes. "We didn't get the gig." He said simply with a sigh before running an annoyed hand through his hair.

Out of all her brothers, Jack was always the calmer one. It took a lot more to get Jack riled up to the point of physical aggression than it did with the other three. He was perhaps the most sensitive and laid-back out of all the siblings, but he used his music as his creative outlet. He and his band had been trying to make it big ever since they started high school. The recent audition was something Jack had been looking forward too, believing this could be the band's big chance at success.

Sydney's face fell at the news, "Aw Jack. That sucks man. I'm really sorry." Despite her words of sympathy, Jack didn't seem like he was going to be letting this go anytime soon. "Hey, don't worry about it. You guys will get another shot."

Jack shook his head, not looking at her as he said bitterly, "No. This was our shot and we totally blew it. There's not going to be another one. There's no point in trying anymore." She watched as his jaw clenched before he continued, "I don't want to talk about it anymore." He told her with finality. Sydney sighed, "C'mon Jackie, you can't just throw all that away because of one bad aud-" She was interrupted by Jack, "I said I don't want to talk about it anymore!" He quickly snapped at her and she immediately shut up. It wasn't like Jack to be short with her like that. She expected that from Bobby or even Angel but not Jack. Sydney had a different kind of bond with each of her brothers, but Jack being closest in age to Sydney, the two always seemed to get along. She hated seeing him so down.

Not wanting to see Jack in such a slump, Sydney jumped up from the couch. "I'm going to cheer you up! I think you just need a little music to put you in a better mood." She told him as she went over to the stereo. She grabbed a few of mom's CDs from the shelf, looking them over momentarily.

Jack scoffed from his spot on the couch, "that's the last thing I need." He said sullenly. Sydney ignored his comment as she made her decision, popping a CD into the player and turning to face Jack, she grabbed Bobby's hockey stick that was propped against the wall and sang into it as the music began to play.

"Carry on my wayward son!" She belted out, "There'll be peace when you are done!" Jack eyed her, his foul mood making him already annoyed by her actions. She continued anyways, "Lay your weary head to rest…" Pointing her finger at Jack she concluded the opening line, "Don't you cry no more!"

The instrumental blasted through the speakers as a result of her turning the volume up louder than necessary.

"Seriously, turn that crap off. You're not helping…" Jack glared at her, but Sydney motioned to her ear as an indication that she couldn't hear him. Of course she could hear him, but she wasn't giving up that easily. She grabbed the remote to the TV before jumping on the couch next to Jack. She bounced up and down, head-banging to the music as she offered him the remote.

Jack didn't take it, instead grumbled at her, "I'm really not in the mood Syd." Sydney started to look disappointed but continued with the head-banging, "C'mon! You're the rockstar! Don't let me sing by myself!" She whined, dropping the remote on his lap but continued to sing as the song continued,

"Once I rose above the noise and confusion…" She sang with ridiculous passion into the hockey stick, "Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion…" Her free hand doing dramatic hand gestures as she sung, "I was soaring ever higher!" Her hand rose in the air as she made a fist and slowly brought it down in front of her. She must've really looked like an idiot, but that was the least of her concern as she looked at Jack once more, "Please…" She begged like a small child wanting a cookie before dinner. But never once did she falter in her singing, "But I flew too high…"

"Ma is gunna be pissed if she finds out you were jumping on her couch." Jack's warning fell on deaf ears. It only encouraged her to sing louder, "Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man. Though my mind could think, I still was a madman. I hear the voices when I'm dreaming! I can hear them say…!"

When all hope seemed to be lost, Jack sprang from his spot and stood on the couch, singing into the TV remote she had given him, "Carry on my wayward son!" The two belted out together, Sydney grinning and Jack couldn't help but let out a smile. It was the dumbest attempt ever, but his sister actually made him feel a little better. After all, he couldn't have her make a fool of herself all alone. "There'll be peace when you are done! Lay your weary head to rest…don't you cry no more!" The two blasted a duet, laughing as they sang into their make-shift microphones.

The instrumental continued for a moment, both doing some serious head-banging before continuing, "Masquerading as a man with a reason. My charade is the event of the season. And if I claim to be a wise man, well. It surely means that I don't know." Sydney was actually surprised he knew the words perfectly. They had to give credit to Ma for always keeping an extensive music collection.

"On the stormy sea of moving emotion, tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean. I set a course for winds of fortune. But I hear the voices say…!"

The pair began to sing the chorus even more loudly, drowning out the voice of the CD. They could only imagine what the neighbors were thinking. Only someone like Jack would be down to dance around and sing like idiots. The only way her other brothers would even consider doing something like this would be only after she had giving them enough shots of whiskey.

After the chorus, Jack and Sydney began jumping wildly on the couch like sugar-hyped three year olds. Sydney used Bobby's hockey stick now as a pretend guitar. Her fingers moving wildly on one end while her other hand strummed the stick as if it were an electric guitar. Jack propped a foot on the top of the couch, his head bobbing up and down to the beat of the music.

"Carry on!" Sydney yelled and Jack gave the next line, "You will always remember." Next was Sydney, "Carry on!" and Jack, "Nothing equals the splendor!" The two came back together to both sing, "Now your life's no longer empty…surely heaven waits for yooou!" Both had ridiculous facial expressions as they sang dramatically. As the chorus came back, the two danced on the couch. Thank god their brothers hadn't seen this. Sydney was so into it, she stepped from the couch onto the coffee table, using the hockey stick once more as a guitar as she played out the guitar solo.

"Play it Syd!" Jack yelled enthusiastically as she pretended to play; her body moving back and forth to the beat. Jack and Sydney head-banged the last few beats of the drum as the song ended. Instantly both burst out in laughter.

The next song on the CD began to blare through the speakers, but neither sibling made a move to turn it off. They were too busy laughing. Jack began coughing wildly, both of them out of breathe, but instantly went back into another laughing fit.

"Turn that shit down!" A voice hollered from the doorway and Jack and Sydney looked over to see Angel and Bobby come in. Both brothers had confusion written all over their faces as they stared at their two siblings; one standing on the couch, remote in hand while the other stood on the coffee table with a hockey stick. Jack and Sydney looked at them, then each other, and then burst out laughing once more. Bobby quickly went over and turned off the stereo, "You both need a fuckin babysitter." He muttered before Angel walked over, popping Jack in the back of the head before grabbing Sydney around the waist and throwing her over his shoulder, "Girl, get off the damn table." He quickly discarded her on the couch as Bobby snatched his hockey stick from her. The two never stopped laughing.

"If I find out you two are taking drugs, I'm gunna bust both your asses." Angel told them threateningly, thinking that could be the only explanation for their behavior. "You betta check yourself!" Sydney shot back mockingly as she laughed at him. Angel and Bobby looked at one another once more before shaking their heads, "Man, let's go. It's getting too crazy up in here." They left leaving Jack and Sydney to their antics.

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**Wow, I don't know how I feel about that chapter. Not sure if it turned out how I was intending. But please, let me know what you think. Good or bad, reviews are my fav! Lol. Any ideas you would like to see in future chapters? Let me know! Thanks! **


	3. C3: Bragging Rights and PB & J

**Alright, first off I want to say thanks to those who are reading, reviewing, favoring, and all that good stuff! It's unbelievable motivation for me! Next, I want to give a special thanks to the reader Ada for all of the wonderful ideas. I had one of your ideas in mind, and after reading the others you sent, I gotta say, I'm liking them! A couple made me giggle on how perfect they would fit in with the story and it is very possible that they will be seen in future chapters. ;) I want to encourage anyone else with an idea to throw it out there because I'm only one brain and storytelling seems to be more successful with a collection of minds. The next person I'd like to address is LonelyHeart and the question posed about Sydney's ethnicity. Honestly, I am still very open about this character, but I was thinking that since this question was asked, that I would maybe put up a poll on my profile and let the readers decide. **

**SO..without further ado...chapter 3! **

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**Chapter 3: Bragging Rights and PB & J**

"Girl, you better watch out! I'm coming for ya!" Angel called out as his eyes stayed focused on the TV.

"Nope! Your ass is getting beat as usual!" Sydney retorted, her attention focused solely on the TV screen as well. Both had a game controller in their hands as they played a racing video game. It was toward the end of the race and their cars were neck and neck, the finish line only being a short distance away.

"Hey!" Sydney protested loudly after Angel had reached over and pushed a few random buttons on her controller in hopes of messing her up. She quickly smacked his hand away, but to her dismay, Angel's car made it over the finish line just a few seconds before hers.

"Yeah!" Angel yelled in victory as Sydney crossed her arms and glared at him, "That wasn't fair!"

"Hey, who won?" Bobby came into the living room, beer in hand, as he plopped down on the couch next to Sydney.

"Man, I whooped her!" Angel rubbed it in as Sydney scoffed, "He cheated! I would have won if he hadn't messed me up."

Bobby smirked, "Aw, is little sis a sore loser?" He asked mockingly as he ruffled her hair. Swatting his hand away, Sydney fixed her hair as she looked at the grinning Angel, "I want a redo!"

"No dice." Bobby said, snatching the controller from her hand, "I play the winner." He announced as he went to set up a new game for him and Angel.

"Bull! It's still my turn!" Sydney shot back, trying to get the controller back as Bobby held it away from her, still pressing buttons as he watched the TV screen. It wasn't until Sydney was practically on top of him that he stopped and looked at her, "Get your boney ass off of me ya friggin' monkey!" He shoved her off with one arm as Sydney moved back to her spot, arms crossed as her face scrunched up in a pout.

It may have seemed childish to act in such a way over a video game, but competition was a huge deal in the Mercer house. It meant bragging rights for the winner, putting a sense of superiority over all the other siblings. Growing up with four ego-driven boys, it was sometimes hard for a girl to keep up and even have a chance when it came to some of the competitions the boys created. At least with video games, Sydney had a fighting chance…that is until stupid Angel goes and cheats…Sydney continued to pout.

Just then, Jack passed by the living room and Bobby hollered over to him, "Jackie! Take your sister upstairs and go paint each other's nails or something."

Jack chose to head back to where he had come from as Bobby started his usual taunts. A faint, "piss off, man" was heard as Jack left.

"You ready Ang.?" Bobby asked before the race started. "Yeah, ready to beat you." Angel retorted as Bobby let out a chuckle. He was about to reply with an equally smartass comeback before Sydney interrupted, her voice held nothing but complete seriousness, "give me the controller Bobby. It's still my turn." She wasn't about to back down. Bobby threw a scowl her way before shifting in his seat, swinging both legs over the couch and resting them across Sydney's lap, "Quit your complaining."

She let out an annoyed '_hmph_' before shutting up and watching the boys play.

...

Only a few laps now separated each brother from a potential victory and so Sydney took the opportunity to strike…

Lucky for her, Bobby's current attire consisted of a hoodie and basketball shorts. With the majority of his legs exposed and strung across her lap, Sydney carefully reached down, pinching a couple of his manly leg hairs in between her fingers and then pulled up roughly.

"Ah, son of a bitch!" Bobby hollered out as one hand shot down to rub his leg. She took the quick distraction by jumping from the couch and grabbing the controller, getting out of Bobby's reach and leading the race car to victory.

"Woooo! In your face!" She pointed at Angel who looked at her in disbelief. "And if there's no more challengers, it looks like _I'm _the champ!" Sydney hollered in victory. "That shit don't count!" Angel retorted, "You're playin' dirty! It's not fair."

"Yeah, just like it wasn't fair when _you _cheated. Now quit being a sore loser and bow down to the champion!" She said conceitedly, but only a minute later that arrogance was squashed when Bobby came up from behind, locking her in a head-lock and proceeded to give her a noogie. She struggled against him, but her efforts were futile.

"It's like a toddler fighting against a grown ass man." Angel laughed at her lack of strength causing Sydney to let out a frustrated growl as she tried harder to get out of her oldest brother's grasp. Alas, the results were the same.

Just then their mother came in, a bag of groceries in each hand as she passed by to head into the kitchen. "Bobby, stop terrorizing your sister." She said sternly but almost with a lack of enthusiasm, it being a phrase she uttered on a regular basis. Bobby listened, pushing Sydney away as both he and Angel laughed at her misfortune…and messed up hair. Isn't that the only thing brothers were good for?

"Redo!" Bobby called out as he went back to the controller to set up a new game for the two to play, completely ignoring the fact that he had just put his sister in a death lock moments before. Sydney scowled as she decided to head into the kitchen, knowing she wasn't going to get another turn to play until the two idiots were done. After all, they were just jealous of her superior gaming skills.

Evelyn smiled knowingly as a scowling Sydney walked into the kitchen, fixing her hair as she took a seat at the table. A freshly made PB & J was placed in front of her and Sydney grinned, "Thanks." She smiled back at her mother who nodded and continued to put away groceries. God, she must have been hanging around her brothers too long if a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was the key to making her feel better.

Sydney began to chow down. The only thing that would make this better was a… "Here's some milk dear." Evelyn placed a glass of milk in front of her as she gave her a comforting pat on the back.

Sydney knew her Ma was better company than her childish brothers anyways.

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**Ok, so I apologize for the length being rather short on this one. I was going to add a second part, but it seemed that it would fit better with another idea I'm brewing up so I think I'll wait on that. This one seemed a little uneventful to me, so I wasn't sure if you all would enjoy it or not. But I'm posting it anyways! Lol. Please review! I'm ok with all comments, good or bad. And I think I will post that poll, so head on over to my page and vote! Thanks a bunch!**


	4. C4: The Nutshot Standoff

**I really want to thank everyone who is reading and that I appreciate all the comments and ideas you guys have been leaving in the reviews. You guys rock! So I had a few requests for this type of chapter that you are about to read which is ironic since this was actually the first chapter I had originally written for the story, but I had decided to wait a few chapters to post it. It's a super long one to make up for the shortness of chap. 3. Hope you don't mind the length. I would've had it out sooner but it's midterms in college this week…but I decided to screw studying for a little while to type this up. Hope you enjoy! **

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**Chapter 4: The Nutshot Standoff **

With the last curl in place and a quick spray over with hairspray, Sydney unplugged the curling iron, giving herself another quick look-over in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. She was already dressed with make-up on, butterflies in her stomach as she made her way across the hall and towards her bedroom.

"You playing dress-up or something?" A voice behind her spoke just before she reached her bedroom door. _So close. _Sydney inwardly groaned, wondering why out of all the nights, her brother Bobby had to choose tonight to stay home. She mentally prepared any excuse she may have to give before turning to face her oldest brother. He eyed her clothes suspiciously, them being a little fancier than what she normally wore, before looking at her hair. Her naturally straight hair done up in locks…she would never take the time to actually curl her hair…something was up.

Before he could question her again, Sydney spoke up, "I'm going out tonight." She told him vaguely before quickly twisting the knob on her door and adding, "Ma already said it was ok, so there." Opening the door she quickly stepped in before shutting it behind her, leaving Bobby standing on the other side. She didn't want to deal with any of his over-protective bullshit. She had made sure to get permission from Ma for that reason exactly. Although she knew Bobby would put up a fight if he found out the truth.

A minute later, as if he could read her mind, Sydney heard Bobby call downstairs, "Hey Ma! Is Syd going somewhere tonight?" Sydney groaned. The shit was about to hit the fan.

"She's going out with a friend tonight." Ma's reply could be heard from downstairs as Sydney breathed a sigh of relief. Ma hadn't used the 'D' word that would have for sure set Bobby off. Sydney Mercer did not go on _dates _as far as Bobby was concerned.

"Will you tell her that he just called and should be here pretty soon." Evelyn continued as Sydney slapped a hand to her forehead. Why did she have to imply it was a guy who was picking her up? She could almost feel Bobby's anger radiate from the hall into her bedroom and she could just picture his eyes narrowing and his fists clenched tight as realization hit him.

Letting out a sigh, Sydney sat on her bed, waiting for what was about to come. As if on cue, Bobby burst through the door, his eyes locking onto hers, "What's his name?" He demanded, trying to keep his anger in check for the moment as he shut the door behind him.

"No one you know." She retorted, sending a stubborn glare his way. "Yeah? Try me." He stood his full height, arms crossed as he blocked the doorway, what Sydney guessed to be in an attempt to look intimidating. She ignored this, however, as she stood from her bed, "A guy named Jesse, alright? Can I go now?" She snapped at him irritated as she made a move to push past him to leave, but he shot his arm out, stopping her, "Jesse who?"

Letting out a frustrated groan, Sydney answered, "Jesse Denner." She watched as Bobby's eyes narrowed, "He got an older brother? Brandon Denner?" He continued to interrogate as Sydney shrugged, getting annoyed with the third degree treatment, "I don't know, he might. He might not." She knew very well that Jesse did have an older brother, Brandon, and given his reputation, she prepared for Bobby's upcoming freak-out.

"Absolutely not! You ain't goin' nowhere with that guy! The whole family is a bunch of fucking punks. And he is a -" Sydney interrupted his tirade before he could go any further, "What is this? West Side Story? You can't tell me who I can and can't see! You're not the boss of me!" She knew the analogy was a stupid one, but hey, it was the first one to come to mind. "West Side what?" Leave it to Bobby to not get the stupid analogy. "Never mind, Ma already said I could go," She managed to get past him and threw the door open, "So suck it!"

Making it into the hallway, Sydney came face to face with Jeremiah, who stood looking at her puzzled, "What's all the shouting for?" Before she could answer, loudmouth Bobby stepped in, "_She…_" Bobby pointed an accusing finger at Syd, "thinks she's going on a date with a Denner boy." Sydney scowled at Bobby before looking back at Jerry, "that's because I _am_!" Jerry's eyes narrowed as he was thinking about the name. "Denner? That's probably not a good idea. I heard they're trouble."

Bobby nodded, "That's what I'm saying!" Sydney let out an infuriated groan, "Ugh! You guys are unbelievable! I'm going because mom said I could! So both of you can piss the fuck off!" She pushed past them as Jerry called after her, "Girl, you better watch who you're talking to!"

Making her way down the stairs, a knock came on the front door, much to Sydney's relief. Glad that her date was here and she could leave before any of her brothers could get another word in, Sydney made her way to the door.

Before she could reach it, however, someone pushed past her roughly, opening the front door and stepping outside before shutting the door behind him.

"Damn it Bobby!" She yelled as she ran the rest of the way, clutching the door handle in attempt to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. The asshole was holding the handle on the other side, keeping the door from opening. "Open the fucking door!" She yelled, banging on it from her side a few times while trying to open it. No such luck. She couldn't make out exactly what Bobby was saying to Jesse, but she had a very good idea that it wasn't positive.

"I'm going on the date whether you like it or not!" She continued to yell through the door. "MA!" Sydney called and a second later Evelyn appeared, "What's going on here?"

"Bobby. Is gunna. Scare him. Away!" She said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word while she tried several times to pull open the door. Evelyn sighed, she was used to the daily chaos of the house, but that didn't mean it was any less exhausting. She looked at her youngest before replying calmly, "Don't worry about Bobby. I told you that you could go, and so you can go. I'll deal with him." Before Sydney could respond, the front door flew open, knocking her back a few paces as Bobby stepped in.

"Bobby, I already told her she can go." Mom told him sternly as Bobby looked over at a glaring Sydney, "Yeah, she can go on the date. I'm not stopping her." Sydney looked at him, confused at his sudden change of heart. He stepped out of her way and motioned towards the door. She watched him, skeptically for a moment, almost waiting for him to snap out of it and start yelling. When he didn't, she decided to move past him and out the front door where she saw her date, Jesse, heading a little hurriedly back to his car.

"Jesse! Wait!" She tried to call after him, but he quickly got into his car and sped off. She stood in the walkway, momentarily stunned that he had just left like that. Her shock quickly turned to anger when she heard a chuckle behind her and then Bobby's voice, "Leaves without his date…great prince charming."

Anger flashed through her eyes as she rounded on him, "I hate you! You ruin everything!" She shouted before pushing past him and going back inside. "Oh god, quit being such a drama queen." Was Bobby's reply as she stomped up the stairs and headed towards her room. She didn't care if she was acting immature, Bobby shouldn't have gotten involved.

Once in her room, Sydney laid face down on her bed, reflecting on how her social life was completely ruined all thanks to bastard Bobby. It didn't take long for someone to enter her room, but she didn't look up from her spot. She felt the side of the bed sink slightly as someone sat next to her, rubbing her shoulder for a moment before telling her comfortingly, "Hey, don't worry about it." It was Jack sitting next to her so she quickly wiped her tears away, not wanting him to think she was crying over something so stupid. Mercers didn't cry anyways.

She made no effort to move, her back continued to face him as she nodded her head to acknowledge that she was listening. Jack continued, "Bobby is just being…well, Bobby. You know he means well." Jack was never good at comforting anyone, but when it came to his little sister, he felt obligated to at least try.

Sydney shook her head before refuting, "No, he didn't have to do that. He did that shit on purpose just to piss me off. The stupid fuck-wad douche bag asshole. He can't get laid so he has to ruin everyone else's dating life." She sniffled, happy to get that out there, as Jack chuckled beside her. Before he could respond, however, someone else replied, "You know, if you're gonna talk shit, say it to my face instead of being a pussy and talking behind my back." Bobby, who had been passing by, now stood in her doorway. _Speak of the devil._

He was trying to antagonize her; she knew that it was what Bobby did best. His verbal assault could be just as cruel as his physical ones, but right now Sydney wanted nothing more than for him to shut his mouth. In a split second, Sydney had sat up, crawling over Jack to get off the bed as she marched right up to Bobby. Even with being the shortest of the four brothers, Bobby still had quite a height difference on Sydney. He looked down at her, arms crossed with a smug smirk on his face, "What are you gunna do runt?" He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, his cockiness sending Sydney to a boiling point. Without second thought, she lifted her foot and kicked him in between his legs. Instantly Bobby fell to his knees, a painful groan escaped his lips as he held himself.

It was that moment she realized what she had done. She had done The Cheap-shot, The Big No-No, The Taboo Kick, the one thing that was supposed to be completely off-limits in a fight. She could have punched Bobby square in the jaw and all would have been fair, but sending him a downstairs shot just signed her death warrant.

Bobby's face was beet-red, his eyes watered as he tried to form coherent threats. Sydney looked over to a shocked Jack who simply told her, "I would run if I were you." Nodding, Sydney bolted out of the room, knowing Bobby would follow shortly behind even despite the pain.

She quickly made it to the closest room that had a locking door, the bathroom. Once locked safely inside, it didn't take long for the pounding on the door to begin, "I swear to god, if you don't open this damn door, I'm gunna kick the shit outta you!" Bobby shouted from the other side, but she wasn't stupid. He'd 'kick the shit outta her' no matter if she opened the door or not. Who could blame her for simply prolonging the inevitable? Hopefully Bobby would tire himself out before he broke through the door.

He continued to shout obscenities and threats from the other side of the door, but Sydney didn't say a word back. "Man, what are you doing?" Angel's voice could be heard outside the door, obviously wanting to know who was on Bobby's Shit List at the present moment. "She fucking kicked me in the balls!" Bobby shouted back at him, only to have Angel let out a chuckle. "It's not funny!" Bobby continued to yell at him and a faint slap could be heard, most likely Angel getting cuffed upside the head. "You gotta give her credit though. She got some balls to kick _you _in the balls!" Angel replied with a laugh before he continued, "Good luck with this one sis!" He called to Sydney as she let out a small, "thanks!" Another chuckle was heard as Angel made his way downstairs.

Finally what seemed like forever, things quieted down. No more pounding, and no more shouting, but Sydney wasn't that dumb. Bobby was probably sitting outside the door, waiting like a predator for his prey. She could almost laugh at his determination. If he put as much perseverance into something constructive as he did with wanting to kick someone's ass, he'd be a productive member of society. But no matter how long he planned to wait, Sydney was determined to wait longer.

She remembered the day when Bobby had told her that he'd never lay a hand on a woman. Ma had taught him better than that. Of course, he quickly went on to add that she was his sister so that was a completely different story. Sydney had looked at him confused before asking, 'what is that supposed to mean?' Bobby's response was simply, 'it means I can do this' and he went on to smack her upside the head before walking off. _Asshole_.

So when Sydney thought about it, as she sat in the bathroom, she did have a genuine concern for her life as she knew Bobby was mulling over what he was going to do. She didn't know how long she sat there, but the heavens soon opened up as she heard the voice of their mother say from the other side of the door, "Bobby, why are you sitting there?" _Ha! I knew it!_

"Sydney is taking forever in the bathroom and I gotta go." He quickly lied, knowing that Ma was the one person who could get his sister out of the bathroom.

More knocking came on the door, this time much gentler than Bobby's previous pounding, as her mother asked, "Syd. You ok in there?" This may have been her only opportunity for escape and Sydney wasn't about to turn it down.

Without a second thought, Sydney went over to the door and carefully opened it, an innocent expression on her face, "Yeah, I'm done. You can use the bathroom now Bobby…Do you need help making dinner Ma?" She asked, the faux innocence never leaving her voice. Evelyn looked at her skeptically before looking over at a seething Bobby. Sydney knew he was less likely to attack if Ma was in sight, so Syd made the decision that it was best to be stuck to her mother's hip for the rest of the night…maybe for the rest of the month as Bobby was known to hold a grudge. But she'd jump that hurdle when she came to it.

"Ok, I'd love your help with dinner." Evelyn finally replied, still not fully convinced that everything between the two siblings was just all of a sudden peachy. Sydney grinned, knowing that her time on death row had just been extended for a little while longer.

Sydney followed her mom downstairs, not daring to look back at Bobby who was probably crapping himself from all the self-restraint he had to be using at that point. In that case, it was a good thing he was close to the bathroom…She smirked at her actions, as she followed Evelyn into the kitchen, having to give herself props for kicking Bobby Mercer in the jewels. He deserved it though! Maybe next time he would think twice before scaring off her date.

"I'm sorry about what happened tonight. I really did want you to go on that date." Her mother told her sincerely as the pair prepared the necessary ingredients for a spaghetti dinner. Shrugging, Sydney responded, "Yeah, maybe next time." Next time she just wouldn't tell _anyone. _

"You know, I can't protect you forever." Evelyn told her as Sydney turned to her, looking confused. Seeing her puzzlement, her mother continued with a smile, "Bobby likes to hold grudges." Ma always had this crazy motherly intuition that never allowed for anything to get past her.

"I know he ruined you night, but you've got to admit, that was kind of a cheap shot." Her mother continued and Sydney waited to be scolded. "But between you and me…" Evelyn lowered her voice as she leaned closer to Sydney and said in a whisper, "he kind of had it coming." She gave Syd a wink before going back to cooking the spaghetti noodles. Sydney couldn't hide the grin that tugged on her lips as she started to fix together the salad.

A few minutes later Ma announced she needed to get the sauce from the pantry. Once she was out of sight, as if right on cue, an intimidating looking Bobby came into the kitchen, his glare instantly focusing on Sydney as he walked menacingly towards her direction. Quickly taking a few steps back, she watched as Bobby cracked his knuckles threateningly, so she quickly called out, "Ma! I think the noodles are done!"

A moment later, Evelyn reentered the room and Bobby quickly backed off, opening the refrigerator and innocently grabbed something to drink as if that had been his purpose for coming into the kitchen. Evelyn and Sydney shared a look as Bobby left, mumbling incoherently under his breath. A smirked appeared on Sydney's face.

Ma always had a thing for coming to the rescue.

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**Phew…that was a doozy! Probably the longest chapter I've ever written for any story. Hope you liked it! Remember to vote on the poll on my page!**

**Anyone else see Mark Wahlberg last night on Jay Leno? *Drools…* Haha that man is amazing. ;P **

**Anywho, please review! I love reading all your comments! Thanks! **


	5. C5: VDay Surprises Aren't Always Sweet

**So I was about halfway done writing the next chapter for the story when I decided to put it on hold for the time being and write out a Valentine's Day themed chapter. It's kind of short, but it was spur of the moment and the next chapter should be coming soon! Hope you don't mind! Valentine's Day, along with Easter and Halloween is always a good day to be hyped up on sugar…so I figured Sydney might as well be too! Haha. Anyways, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 5: V-Day Surprises Aren't Always Sweet **

"I'm home!" Sydney called out rather obnoxiously as she flew open the front door and marched in the house, a smile on her face and a grocery bag in hand. She discarded her backpack by the door as Bobby mumbled uninterestedly from the couch, not bothering to look away from the TV. "That's nice…"

A frown appeared on her face for a moment before she waltzed over to the couch to pester even further. "Today isn't the day to be grouchy Mr. Grumpy Pants. Just because you don't have a special valentine doesn't mean you can't have a good day!" She grinned at a now scowling Bobby who finally turned from the TV to look at her. "Who says I don't have a valentine?" He asked her accusingly as Sydney continued to grin, "That sounded a little defensive if you ask me. Plus…what's your longest relationship? Like a week? Bobby, girls aren't stupid enough to stick around." Sydney told him matter-of-factly as Bobby looked taken aback.

"You little brat, I outta-" Bobby began his threat but Sydney quickly interrupted, "But have no fear! The Valentine Fairy is here!" Reaching into the grocery bag, Sydney pulled out a box containing a milk chocolate bear holding a little milk chocolate heart. The print on the box even read '_Bear Hugz_.' Bobby eyed it suspiciously, but didn't take the bear as Sydney held it out for him. "Isn't it cute? I thought you'd have fun biting its head off. Take it. Happy Valentine's Day." Watching him expectantly, still offering the bear, Bobby slowly took it from her, giving her a look like she had gone a little crazy. "Thanks?" He told her, a little unsure about the gift. "No problem!" Sydney replied enthusiastically before bouncing off towards the kitchen before he could get another word in.

Jerry and Evelyn sat at the kitchen table, each with a cup of coffee as they talked with each other. "Hey Ma! Hey Jerre!" Sydney butted in as both her mother and brother looked over. "Hello dear. Good day at school?" Evelyn asked; if Sydney's interruption had bothered her, she didn't let it show. Jerry on the other hand gave her one of his famous reproachful looks as she sat down at the table in between the two of them. "Yeah, pretty good day overall." Sydney answered, more chipper than usual. "Ma and I weren't just having a conversation here…" Jerry retorted sarcastically as he looked at Sydney a little annoyed at her interruption.

"Don't get your briefs in a bunch! It's Valentine's Day!" Sydney replied wondering why everyone always had to be in a grumpy mood. At least _she_ was being nice. "I bought presents!" She reached in the bag and pulled out a chocolate rose and handed it to Evelyn and then pulled out a box of assorted chocolates to give to Jerry. "You can share those with Camille." She told him, mentioning his girlfriend whom he was most likely going out with tonight. "Just make sure you tell her it was from me! Don't be a cheapo and try to pass the gift off as your own."

Jerry gave her a little scowl at the accusation but Ma spoke first, "Thank you honey. You didn't have to do that." She pulled Sydney into a hug before letting go and giving Jerry a look. "Yeah, um thanks." Jerry replied as Sydney continued to look at him expectantly. He quickly added, "And yea, I'll tell Camille they're from you…" A grin spread across Sydney's lips as she stood from the chair. "Great!" And off she was once more, this time bounding up the stairs.

"Jackie-O!" She called before walking into Jack's room. He didn't look up from his guitar as he softly strummed the strings, "Hmm?" His reply came out more of a grunt as he concentrated on the song he was creating. Disregarding his moment of deep thought, Sydney came in, plopping down on his bed as she watched him for a moment. "Are you writing a song about heart-ache and despair?" She was being completely serious, seeing it a fitting topic for some people on a day like today. Jack, however, looked up from the guitar, giving her a 'what the hell' type of look. "No…just messing around with a few melodies. What's in the bag?" He asked curiously as he eyed the plastic bag sitting next to her.

"Oh yeah! Almost forgot…" She opened it up, pulling out a pink stuffed bear holding a guitar. "Happy Valentine's Day!" She pushed the button on the bear's hand, handing it to Jack as it started swaying back and forth as a version of '_Achy Breaky Heart'_ started playing. "Sorry that it's pink…and that it's playing Billy Ray Cyrus…I bought it cuz of the guitar. There wasn't much selection…" She started to apologize before Jack interrupted, "Nah, it's alright. I like it!" He gave her a reassuring smile before pushing the button to make the song start again. "Really, thanks. Sorry I didn't get you anything…" It was Jack's turn to start apologizing before Sydney replied, "It's all good! Now you're inspired to make a hard-rock version of _Achy Breaky Heart._ And for that, you're welcome!" She stood from the bed as Jack chuckled, placing the bear on the nightstand next to his bed.

Exiting Jack's room, still humming Billy Ray Cyrus, Sydney made her way to her final brother's room. "Ang! Happy Valentine's D-" She had opened the door for only a second before slamming it back shut, eyes wide with horror. Standing there, completely silent for a moment as a pained expression appeared on Sydney's face, she finally decided that he would receive his present from her later…much later.

Losing all bounce in her step, Sydney slowly walked back to Jack's room, sitting on his bed as the sickening expression never left her face. "What's wrong?" Jack asked, putting his guitar down to give her a look of concern.

"I—uh…think Angel and what's her face are um…celebrating Valentine's Day a little _early._" The mortification of what she had just witnessed, even if it was just only for only a second, was almost enough to lose not only her sugar high…but also her lunch. "Oh god…" Jack became equally disgusted, "I'm sorry…now you have to go burn your eyeballs."

Sydney gave him an agreeing nod. "He needs to put a sign on his door or something! Learn some common courtesy." She complained, not taking into account that she was the one who had barged in without knocking. A moment later a half-clothed Angel came into Jack's room, sending an annoyed scowl Sydney's way, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"Haven't you ever heard of a hotel room?" She retorted, equally as annoyed that she had been exposed to a sight that she would probably never be able to get rid of. "My door was shut for a reason! What the hell did you want anyways?" They continued their scowl stare-down before Sydney grabbed the grocery bag and shoved it into his arms. "Happy Valentine's Day you sicko." She told him before walking out of Jack's room and back downstairs.

Angel stood there confused for a moment, looking over at Jack before looking into the bag and pulling out his chocolaty gift. It was similar to Bobby's except it was a dog holding a heart instead of the bear. This box had a similar cheesy title— "I Wuff You? What the hell? Man, I think that girl has finally gone crazy…"

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**Hope you enjoyed it! Completely off the top of my head so I apologize if it was a little…uh…not good! Haha. Anyways, hope you all have a great Valentine's Day! And I know you all are just dying to send me some chocolaty sweets, but I'd gladly accept reviews in replace of chocolate shaped dogs. Remember, I Wuff You All! Lol…that was terrible…**


	6. C6: New Reigning Champ of Stupidity

**I have to house sit for my aunt and uncle, so being bored I put in Four Brothers and decided to finish this chapter. "Are you bullshiting me?" Haha, that makes me laugh every time. **

**I guess you could say that this chapter is a little more serious than the previous chapters, and kind of shows more of the 'Mercer side' of Sydney who gets into trouble here. **

**I also have to say that I am ecstatic about the support! Every review is amazing and I absolutely LOVE reading the feedback. Thanks everyone!**

**-Strong language-**

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**Chapter 6: New Reigning Champ of Stupidity**

"Man, let's go get some beer or something." Devin who sat in the passenger seat told the driver, Brian. Sydney sat in the middle of the backseat as the two guys debated on what to do. Teenagers, boredom, and Saturday nights were never a good mix and rarely resulted in anything other than trouble, especially in this town. Nevertheless here Sydney sat, the faint beat of a familiar rap song played through the car speakers. It had been blasting a few moments before but was turned down as the three contemplated what they wanted to do next.

"How you gonna get beer? Don't tell me you're gonna rob a 7-11." Sydney replied sarcastically, but truly hoping that wasn't the plan. Her two companions had been seniors at her high school last year and had graduated a few months before. Brian being 18 and Devin 19, the two weren't exactly model citizens; probably not heading to college, but rather a county prison seemed more in the realm of their future prospects. Frankly, that didn't matter to Sydney, she grew up with a bunch of delinquents and besides, she was bored, it was Saturday night, and they had wanted to hang. Plus, it was always fun to hang out with old high school friends…even if she was still stuck in that hellhole.

Making it out of the house was surprisingly easy, telling Ma she was going to hang out with some friends and that she'd be back by curfew. She managed to make it out the door before anyone could ask questions. And now here she was, in the car, cruising around the streets of Detroit while the two older boys bickered on the trio's next course of action.

Before she knew it, they were pulling into a 7-11 parking lot. "Dude, I was only joking." Sydney said, worried that they had taken her sarcastic comment as a legitimate idea. Ok…so maybe she had only been acquaintances with the guys during high school…

"Relax, we're not going to rob the place. You think we're stupid or something?" Devin asked as Sydney let out an inaudible sigh of relief. "We're still getting the beer though." Devin finished before Sydney asked, "fake I.D.s?"

Bryan shook his head, "Nah, we're getting it the old fashioned way." After he parked the car, he turned in his seat so he was facing her and she had a sneaking suspicion as to what his plan was, as he continued, "One of us is gonna stand outside the store and get someone else to buy for us." _Yep, she knew it._

Having no objections to this plan, and definitely having no objections on obtaining alcohol, she nodded, "Alright, nose goes!" She quickly put a finger to her nose while waiting for the other two to do the same. They simply stared at her, both with a look of 'are you kidding me' before Devin responded, "_You _gotta do it. We're more likely to get it if a girl asks for it." Sydney let out a sigh, already knowing she was going to get volunteered. Guys were such pussies…always sending the girls out to do the dirty work. "Fine. But what if no one wants to do it?"

"Look, I got that covered." Brian responded, "Both of you give me five bucks." The pair reluctantly handed over the money as Brian also pitched in five of his own. "Ok Syd, just stand over there," he pointed towards the side of the building, "find someone that looks old enough and ask them to get us as much as he can with 15 bucks." He handed her the money as he told her the plan.

She took the money and was about to get out of the car when he stopped her, "If they want something in return, then offer them this." He looked around momentarily before reaching into his coat and pulling out a wadded up plastic Ziploc baggie. He placed it quickly in her hand before she opened her palm back up to look at it.

"What the hell!" She exclaimed as she noticed the indistinguishable green substance in the baggie. "Are you guys serious?" She looked between the two boys before Devin answered with a sound of slight annoyance in his voice, "It's not even that much. Don't worry we have more, so chill."

"Wait, what?" Sydney questioned, the two clearly misunderstanding her outrage. "I'm not gunna offer the guy drugs!" It seemed ironic that the pair could have a bag of weed but not a 12 pack of Coors.

"Syd, c'mon. You're only going to offer it if the guys wants something in return. He probably won't even ask for anything anyways. But if he happens too, then _that_" Brian pointed to the bag, "is the best thing to give in a neighborhood like _this_."

"Man, fuck this." She tossed the bag onto the middle consol as she sat back in her seat. If only Jerry or Bobby would make themselves useful and be cool enough to buy for her. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case and they had already made it clear that they didn't want her to drink. Fuckin' hypocrites.

"Seriously Syd, just put the shit in your pocket. It's not even that big of a fucking deal." Devin told her, the annoyance in his voice now even more clear. "I thought you would be cool with simple shit like this. It's just weed."

Another sigh escaped her lips as she folded under the pressure, snatching up the bag and shoving it deep inside her jeans pocket. "Fine." She opened the door, shutting it a little more forcefully than necessary as she went to stand by the building.

As she stood there waiting for a customer, Sydney couldn't decide whether she felt more like a prostitute or a drug dealer. Maybe she should just go back to the car… "fuck, it's just weed." She mumbled to herself to regain her confidence about the situation. She wasn't going to pussy out now.

It didn't take but a few minutes until a man, probably mid-30's, walked past Sydney before she stopped him, "Hey, man." The guy turned to look at her and she instantly regretted opening her mouth. The guy looked like a conservative white-collar, probably with a trophy wife and perfect children, not the type to buy beer for minors. Unsure, Sydney looked back to the car where Brian and Devin both nodded her to continue.

"You think you could…uh…You know, do a favor for me and my friends?" The guy looked at her skeptically for a moment before looking over to the car where the two boys sat, "What do you want?" He asked gruffly as Sydney continued, showing him the money, "We got 15 bucks. If you could just…" She motioned to the 7-11.

"Oh, you kids want to have a good time tonight is that it?" He asked condescendingly and as Sydney went to answer, he continued, "You think I'm going to break the law by buying you punks some beer?"

"Well…we just um…" Sydney stumbled over her words as the guy continued his stare-down….he could surely give Bobby a run for his money.

"What are you going to do for me?" He now stood, arms crossed as he looked at her up and down before the slightest of smirks tugged at his lips, making Sydney feel sick.

"I have some…um…I can give you some pot?" She told him unsure of herself and of what his reaction would be. He didn't look like the type to be a pot-head, but nevertheless he agreed, "Alright, give me the money." She gladly handed it over, happy that he finally agreed and then walked inside the store. Sydney turned, giving a quick thumbs up to the boys who grinned in return.

A few minutes later, the guy came out of the store, empty handed. Sydney waited expectantly, but he simply walked past her, not acknowledging her. "Hey!" She called after him. Did the guy just seriously rob them out of 15 bucks?" he continued to walk away ignoring her, so Sydney came up behind him and gave him a little push. It may have only been a small amount of cash, but it was still the principle of the matter. Plus, growing up around four testosterone fueled boys didn't help her with her own temper.

Spinning around, the guy glared at her as he took a threatening step forward. Brian and Devin opened the doors, ready to get out of the car as the guy spoke, "You want to try doing that again?" He told her menacingly as he opened his jacket slightly, revealing a handgun sitting at his waist. "Whoa, hey, never mind. It's cool." She took a few steps back, holding her hands up in surrender. At the sight of the gun, both boys froze, remaining inside the car as they decided to wait to see how things played out. They weren't stupid enough to mess with someone with a gun. Sydney's words didn't help matters, however, because the man quickly closed the space between the two, grabbing the back of her jacket and roughly pulling her forward, "let's go." He growled at her before turning towards the car and giving Brian and Devin a warning look before flashing them his gun again. Tugging Sydney along, he walked to the other side of the building, into the back alley.

"Shit man! What do we do?" Devin looked at Brian who stood speechless for a moment, not knowing what exactly to do. "Dude, he's got a gun." Devin looked over at Brian, taken aback, "So we're not gunna do anything?" Brian glared at him, "All I'm saying is, if you want to get shot, then go for it. But I'm going to wait here for a minute and see how this shit plays out."

"Look man, just keep the fucking money. I have more if that's what you want…just let me go." Sydney tried to negotiate as she was yanked down the alley. "C'mon, please…" The pleading fell on deaf ears and she started to panic.

"Shut up girl." Another rough tug on the back of her jacket shut her up. But there was no way in hell that she was going to be beaten and raped or whatever the fuck he was planning, at least not without putting up a fight. Seeing an opportunity, Sydney turned, giving the guy a hard punch to his jaw. He let out a sting of curses and stumbled back as Sydney took off.

It didn't take but a moment for him to catch up with her. Damn, this guy had some cardio skills. Sydney was grabbed from behind and then slammed cheek first into the concrete wall. A groan escaped her lips as her face was held against the side of the building.

"Do you know who you're dealing with! My brother is Bobby Mercer! Ever heard of him? How about Angel Mercer? They're gonna kill your ass if you do anything to me!" The threats were probably stupid to say in her present situation, but she wasn't just going to stand there and keep quiet. She had a mouth, and she wasn't afraid to use it.

"A Mercer huh?" The asshole spoke behind her, patting his hands down the sides of her body before yanking both of her arms behind her back. "Yeah you fucker! So you better think about-" her train of thought was stopped when she felt what seemed to be a pair of handcuffs slapped tightly onto her wrists.

"What the fuck?" Sydney started to protest as the guy interrupted, "Loitering…assaulting a police officer…threatening the life of a police officer…oh…" he reached into her pocket and pulled out what he was looking for, the bag of marijuana, "and possession." Her stomach dropped, not sure if what she was hearing was actually happening, "What are you talking abo-"

"I'm off-duty dumbass. But I think I can make an exception for a Mercer. It's not very often the station gets to see the runt of the fucked up litter." He pulled her away from the wall and began leading her back the way they had come. The side of her face stung after being held against the wall, and she was sure there was going to be a nice red mark.

"Hey, c'mon. Can't you just let me off with a warning or something? That weed isn't even mine! You don't have to arrest me." Her pleading went unheard as the cop dragged her along. Ma was going to kill her…her _brothers_ were going to kill her…

"Warnings don't seem to work with your kind." The cop told her. Every damn pig in this town had it out for the Mercers. Sydney mostly had her brothers to blame for that. Of course, they may have brought it upon themselves most of the time, but still it was a type of police profiling!

"Hey you assholes!" She called as she was led past Brian and Devin who still sat in the car, looking at her stunned. "He's a goddamn cop! Thanks for the bright idea!" This was the last time she hung with those dipshits. They didn't move from their spot, not wanting to get arrested as well…pansies.

"Get in the car." The cop opened the backseat door to his car as he gave her a little push forward. "You didn't even read me my rights! You can't just arrest me! _You're_ breaking the law!" Sydney continued to protest as she was pushed into the backseat and he got into the driver's seat. "I'm sure your family has the Miranda Rights memorized. I don't think I need to waste my breath." He told her as he started up the car. Did this guy have any more stabs to make towards her family?...Probably. Letting out a groan, Sydney rested her head on the window as she contemplated how she was going to explain this one to Ma. '_F my life…_'

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"I just want to know what you were thinking. Or if you were even thinking at all." Evelyn continued to scold Sydney on the car ride home after she had picked her up at the police station. Arms crossed, Sydney stared out the window, mumbling simple replies when needed.

"Who were you with anyways?" Evelyn continued to try and get information about the situation, but Sydney wasn't saying much. "Some friends." She mumbled, focusing solely on the buildings passing by. "Well maybe you need to find more responsible friends." That was already more than apparent to Sydney.

It didn't take long until they were pulling into the driveway and Evelyn shut off the car. Neither of the two moved, Sydney knowing that their conversation wasn't over yet.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Evelyn finally let out a sigh and asked, "how long have you been doing drugs?"

Sydney finally tore her gaze away from the window to look at her mom, "What? I haven't done any."

Another sigh escaped Evelyn's lips, but the woman remained patient, "Syd, the policeman told me they found-" Sydney interrupted her, knowing exactly where this was going, "I already told you! That wasn't mine!"

"I know you're not raising your voice to me." Evelyn told her sternly and Sydney immediately shut up. Each Mercer kid knew very well that their mother didn't liked to be yelled at, and it was already bad enough that Sydney had disappointed her with getting arrested. It was amazing how one woman could tame the wild Mercer bunch with a simple look or phrase.

"One month." Evelyn told her simply and Sydney already knew that was how long she was grounded for. She nodded, not looking at her mom as she waited until Evelyn got out of the car to finally follow.

Sydney dragged her feet as she walked towards the house, not wanting to face the shit-storm her brothers no doubt had in store for her. While Evelyn was stern but understanding, her brothers weren't so nice. She wasn't inside for more than a minute when a hard slap smacked her upside the head, "Ow! What the-" She rubbed her head as Angel spoke, "Girl, you stupid or something?" Rolling her eyes, she ignored him, wanting nothing more than to go upstairs and go to bed. Evelyn watched as Angel stalked Sydney up the stairs, obviously not done with what he had to say. In the Mercer household, tough love between the siblings was something that occurred on a regular basis, but was necessary for them to keep each other in line and protect one another. But even so, it was always better not to be on the receiving end of Mercer tough love.

"What the hell you thinkin? Getting caught with weed and punching a Uniform? What the fuck you doin with that shit anyways?" Angel had unceremoniously let himself into her room as he begun the lecture. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" He grabbed the blanket that covered Sydney as she lay in bed with it over her head to block out the sound. When the blanket was yanked back, she finally stood up to face her older brother. "Don't even lecture me about that shit! You don't even know what happened!" She yelled back at him…it's not like there was ever a moment of peace in their house anyways.

"You best knock out that attitude before I knock it out for you." Angel threatened as both glared at each other. Sydney finally backed down, sitting back on her bed, arms crossed as she glared up at him. Angel continued his rant for a while longer before Jeremiah came into the room. "Angel, c'mon man, that's enough. Let me talk to her." Jerry spoke and Angel backed off, still scowling at Sydney. "Is Bobby here?" Jerry asked as Angel finally looked away from her, "No he's not." Angel answered as Sydney mumbled, "Thank god." Although she should have already known that. If Bobby had been there, he'd be tag teaming it with Angel and they would both be standing there shouting at her.

Jerry finally got Angel to leave. He shut the door as Angel walked out and then came over and sat on the bed next to his sister. "You want to tell me what happened?" The disappointment was evident in his voice, but he remained calm. That was one thing that Jerry had mastered; keeping his temper in check and Sydney was more than grateful for that now.

With a sigh, Sydney told the whole story, something she wasn't able to do when Angel was yelling. When she finally finished, she looked at Jerry who had an emotionless expression on his face. She was pretty sure he was about ready to blow up when a grin spread over his face and he started laughing. Sydney was clearly taken aback by his reaction as Jerry continued to laugh as he asked, "So wait a minute. You're telling me you asked a _cop_ to buy you beer. _And then_ tried to offer him some pot in exchange? Oh, AND he robbed you out of 15 bucks?" He continued to laugh as Sydney retorted, "Yeah, but it's not like I knew he was a damn cop!" She didn't see how it was funny at all, but Jerry was now laughing even harder.

"Girl, I think you've knocked Bobby off the dumbass throne. Congratulations, you're the new reigning champion of stupidity." Sydney scowled at him as Jerry wiped a tear from his eye. "Seriously, who does shit like that?" He rhetorically asked, but she decided to ignore him as he continued to make fun of her.

"You're not going to let me live this down are you?" Sydney mumbled, still not finding the situation funny.

Jerry let out a chuckle as he patted her on the back, "Not a chance in hell."

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**I can't tell you how many times me and my friends cruise around town completely bored and trying to figure out something to do…or trying to find someone to buy us a fifth of Captain. Lol. I guess that would be part of the inspiration for this chapter. Although, I can't say that I've ever been arrested…lol thank god.**

**Hope you enjoyed it because I was seriously debating whether or not I should've just scrapped this idea and came up with something else for the chapter. **

**As for the poll, Caucasian is in the lead with 6 votes. Then Latin American with 3 and finally Asian with 2. I'll probably keep it open for a little while longer since the results aren't too imperative for the story. If you still want to vote, please feel free to. **

**Anywho, please please review! They really make my day! :D Thanks again for reading!**


	7. C7: Ice Cream, Forgery, and the Big News

**I'm so stoked with all the feedback and support that you guys have been giving and so I decided to give a speedy update. Here's a completely Sydney-Jerry chapter! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7: Ice Cream, Forgery, and the Big News**

"You will need your parent or guardian to sign this form and you are to return it to me first thing tomorrow morn- Ms. Mercer, are you listening to me?" Mr. Knight, the high school principal spoke as Sydney's wandering attention focused back to him. "Yeah yeah, sign the form. I got it." She told him distractingly, arms crossed and foot tapping on the ground as she waited impatiently to be dismissed.

"I don't think you understand. You will return the form after your parent or guardian has signed it. You are getting three days detention starting tomorrow after you return the form indicating that your parent or guardian acknowledges the punishment that you are to receive. If you do not return the form with the appropriate signature from your parent or guardian, then I will be forced to-" He droned on like Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off; his 'anyone, anyone,?' being replaced with the damn form and her 'parent or guardian'.

"Ok! I get it! I have to sign the form." Sydney interrupted as Mr. Knight gave her a warning look. She rolled her eyes and finished, "My parent or guardian signs it, yeah yeah…"

"You're lucky three days detention is all you're getting. Any more slip-ups and I might just have to suspend you." He threatened making Sydney narrow her eyes to challenge him, "Did suspension work with my brothers?...Just curious." She already knew the answer but Mr. Knight chose to ignore the condescending question by standing from his desk and pointing to the door, "Out Now!"

Not having to be asked twice, Sydney snatched the form from his desk and marched out of the principal's office.

School had gotten out ten minutes or so ago, making the hallways practically empty as Sydney made her way to her locker and then outside. She noticed Jerry's car parked out front and so she went over to it, getting into the passenger seat without a word.

"Mom said you'd probably need a ride today." Jerry broke the silence as he started up the car. Sydney mumbled her thanks as she focused her gaze out the window.

"You were late getting out of there." Jerry continued, curious about her uncharacteristic silence. "You had to stay after school for something?" He questioned as he glanced over at his sister before focusing back on the road.

Shrugging her shoulders, Sydney answered, "Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it. It's no big deal anyways." She hoped Jerry didn't press the matter, not wanting to have to explain herself to him. Unfortunately, her brother could read her like a book, "Did you get into trouble again?"

Rolling her eyes, she answered annoyed, "I already said it wasn't that big of a deal."

"What happened?" Jerry continued to press, not taking no for an answer.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Sydney explained, "There was this kid at lunch who kept talking crap about one of my friends. He didn't shut up even after I told him to, so I maybe took my tray of food and possibly dumped it on his head…" Sydney dared to take a glance at her brother who was now shaking his head and letting out a sigh, "You gotta quit causing trouble. Just because me and your other brothers were screw-ups in high school doesn't make it ok for you to be one too." _Great, here comes the lecture._

"Yeah well, I don't need you trying to be my dad either. Ma is already gonna get on my case." Sydney mumbled back as Jerry let out another sigh.

"Look, maybe you're right, but that still doesn't mean you can go around acting like a fool." The car ride was silent for the next few minutes, neither sibling really wanting to fight. Five minutes later, Jerry spoke again, "So are you hungry? You know, since your lunch ended up on some punk's head rather than in your stomach." Sydney cracked a small smile before responding, "It shut him up though…and yea, I might be a little hungry…"

Jerry let out a chuckle as he turned around the corner, "Alright, you're buying then." Shooting him a puzzled scowl, Sydney protested, "You're the one with a job! But if that's the case, then I want ice cream."

The two siblings debated for the next few minutes on whether or not ice cream was a suitable food to eat for lunch. A grin spread across Syd's face as Jerry pulled into a Dairy Queen parking lot, "I win again!"

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"So Jerry…I was thinking…" Sydney said as she sat across from him, eating the ice cream cone that he had bought for her.

"Uh oh, you actually thinking? That can't be good." He responded as she stuck her tongue out at him and then continued, "You know you've always been my favorite brother…"

Rolling his eyes, Jerry saw right through her façade as he responded, "What do you want now?"

Reaching into her pocket, Sydney pulled out the detention slip she had been given, "Well…they gave me this slip and said that Ma needs to sign it…"

"Absolutely not." Jerry's answer was firm before she could even ask the question. "C'mon Jer! Just this _one_ time. Pleeeeease?" Jerry scowled, arms crossed as he sat back in his chair watching her. He then shook his head no, not falling for the puppy-dog look his sister was now using on him. He knew that she wanted him to forge Evelyn's signature, him being the only brother who was gifted enough to do so. In high school, Jeremiah had avoided getting into trouble with Ma on several occasions by simply signing her name on the detention slips. Bobby was too stupid to even come up with the forgery scheme, Angel was terrible at matching Ma's perfect cursive, Sydney was just as bad as Angel, and Jack could have cared less about getting a detention. Yes, Jerry had been the only successful forger of the Mercer bunch, and now Sydney wanted him to use his skills one more time.

"Seriously Jer, I'm desperate. I'm still on probation with Ma after the whole getting arrested thing. I can't get into trouble with her again so soon." There was one skill that Sydney had that her brothers couldn't match, and that was putting on the water-works as she told a sob story. Phony tears appeared in her eyes as she looked at Jerry, the most pathetic expression on her face. "Don't even try it! 'Cuz I'm not falling for it." Jerry wouldn't budge.

"P-pleeeeeeeeease!" The act continued and Jerry had to look away from her so he wouldn't fall into the trap. Despite his efforts, however, he kept glancing over at his sister whose expression remained the same, tears threatening to fall. He was gonna break… "Fine." He said with a scoff as Sydney's face completely changed almost instantly to that of pure triumph as Jerry sighed, "But you owe me big time." Scribbling Ma's false signature onto the paper, Sydney stuffed it back into her pocket, "See, you doing things like this are the reason why you're my favorite."

"Ha ha…" Jerry responded dryly, annoyed with himself that she had made him crack so easily. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day? Maybe we can get everyone together for a game of hockey." Sydney suggested, taking licks of her ice cream like she hadn't just forced her brother to partake in forgery.

"Nah, I got a few houses that me and Camille gotta go look at. "Jerry responded as Sydney's face fell, "Wait, you're moving out?" She asked, the disappointment evident in her voice. "Syd, I'm 22. I think it's about time. I can't live with yall forever." Focusing on her ice cream, Sydney remained silent, angry that her brother could just leave so easily.

"Look, I'm not even going to live that far away. I'm still going to see you all the time." He tried to encourage her, but she still protested, "I just don't see what the big rush is…shouldn't you wait to see how things go with Camille first?"

"Syd, we've been together for almost two years now. Things are going great." Jerry assured her as Sydney scrunched up her face, "Yeah, but you're still rushing into things if you move in together." She continued trying to make up excuses as to why he shouldn't leave. It was inevitable that her brothers would leave soon enough, all of them already adults, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to voice her protests on the matter. What would she do if all her brothers decided to leave? Jerry was just being stubborn. Rushing into things like that never turned out good, "I mean, it's not like you knocked her up or anything."

When Jerry didn't respond after a few moments, Sydney looked up from her ice cream as he sat there with an unreadable expression on his face. "Wait a minute…you didn't did you?" Sydney asked skeptically, unsure how to approach the situation. Jerry remained quiet. "You did!" A grin appeared on her face as she looked at him, an excited gleam in her eye. "I'm gonna be an auntie? Ah, hell yea!" Jerry finally revealed a thrilled smile as well, not being able to contain the excitement of the news any longer. He was going to be a daddy.

"Does Ma know yet?" Sydney asked eagerly, knowing Evelyn would be ecstatic to become a grandmother. "I was planning on telling her today…She _was_ going to be the first person I told…Thanks a lot." He told her sarcastically, his plan now messed up from Sydney and her 'thinking.'

"Man, she is going to be stoked! Do you know what it's going to be yet? It better be a girl!" She told him, ignoring the fact she had figured out the news before she was supposed to know. "No, we don't know the sex yet. It'll probably be a boy though." Jerry countered as Sydney scowled at him. "No, it's _going_ to be a girl. Trust me." Sydney and Evelyn were already seriously outnumbered by boys, they needed another girl on their team!

Jerry chuckled, "Alright, if you say so." Sydney smiled but then responded, "You know, you just ruined Jack and I's bet we had going."

"What do you mean?" Jerry asked as Sydney answered, "Jack and I made a bet on which one of you guys was going to get a girl pregnant first. He had his money on Bobby, I had Angel." She explained as Jerry gave her a look, "Well I'm very sorry that this news of me becoming a daddy ruins a little bet you have. Your gambling is my greatest concern, my apologies." Jerry told her mockingly before cracking a smile as Sydney gave a smile of her own.

A moment later, she stood from her chair, looking down at him, "Well, what are you waiting for? We gotta go tell Ma!" She told him enthusiastically as Jerry got up from his chair as well. "What do you mean 'we'? _I'm _the one who's going to tell mom. It's _my_ big news."

"Uh, huh." Sydney waved him off as the two left and went to the car. "I'm serious Syd. Don't say anything until I tell her." Jerry knew her well enough to know that secrets weren't something she was good at keeping. "You owe me remember?"

"Yeah yeah, the 'parent or guardian' signature thing, I know." She told him distractedly, too excited about becoming an aunt and most of all, Evelyn finding out she was going to be a grandma.

"Girl, I'm going to leave you here. You better not open your mouth." Jerry told her with the seriousness in his voice. "Ok, yeah. I got it. My lips are sealed." Sydney made a motion over her lips like she was locking them up with an imaginary zipper. Jerry gave her a suspicious look, still not fully convinced as he started up the car.

"Ma is gonna be sooooo excited!" She squealed not even a minute later. Jerry sighed. _So much for keeping her lips sealed._

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**Hope you liked! Please leave a comment, idea, suggestion, or a random thought that's on your mind. I seriously love every review! Instant motivation!**

**As for the poll, it looks like Caucasian is winning by a landslide. I'm thinking that might be the winner…but nevertheless, you can still vote for now! **

**Thanks again for reading! **


	8. C8: Sibling Spats and Cereal Challenges

**Soooo sorry this has taken a little while to be posted. We're getting towards the end of winter quarter at college and the teachers seem to have decided to cram as much material as they possibly can with the short amount of time left. Bleh.**

**Anyways, over 30 reviews! Woo hoo! You guys are seriously awesome! **

**One thing I want to mention before you read: At the end of Four Brothers when the guys are fixing up the house, Bobby is wearing a shirt with a nametag on it that says 'Raul.' I never noticed that until just recently, and so that same shirt is mentioned in this chapter. Just to clear up the confusion when you read. **

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**Chapter 8: Sibling Spats and Cereal Challenges **

No one knew exactly how it started. Maybe it was when Angel had came in and stole the remote from Sydney, who had been watching TV, and changed the channel to what he wanted to watch. Or perhaps when Bobby came in to tell the bickering pair to shut up. Or possibly when Jerry came in, reminding Bobby that he still owed him the money that he had barrowed and never paid back. It's also possible that it all started when Jack came in, putting his two cents in on what he thought about them all fighting, who in turn got sucked into the argument.

It wasn't clear how it started, but all that was known was that all five siblings stood in the living room, arguing with each other about one thing or another. Everyone shouted at each other, words overlapping into a gargle of incomprehensible yelling.

"Bullshit! I don't remember that!" Bobby yelled at Jerry who in turn yelled back, "I let you borrow 100 bucks a month ago and you never paid me back!"

"Just because you're older doesn't mean you can just come in here and do whatever the hell you want! I was in here first!" Sydney argued with Angel as Jack threw in, "You two are always fighting! Can't you shut up for five fucking seconds?"

"Ok, Jack, maybe all of us should just be hermits and lock ourselves in our rooms like you do." Angel retorted back as Sydney came to Jack's defense, "Don't bring him into this! Why don't you just leave him alone? You're worse than Bobby!"

"Are you wearing my fuckin' shirt?" Bobby had rounded on Sydney as he heard the mentioning of his name, "Didn't I tell you not to go though my room?"

Sydney looked down at the shirt she was wearing. It was a shirt that looked like either a mechanic or gas station attendant wore. It had a Ford logo patch on one side and a nametag stating, 'Raul' on the other.

"It doesn't have your name on it! Unless your name is _Raul._" She retorted, her tone very snooty. Bobby took a few threatening steps forward before Jack piped in, "You take my shit all the time Bobby!"

Looking over at Jack with a scowl, Bobby replied, "You're full of it! I don't wear fairy clothes. Besides, that shirt don't even fit her!" He said motioning to the baggy shirt Sydney wore as Angel took his turn to respond, a laugh in his voice, "Man, I saw you wearing one of Jackie's sweatshirts the other day!"

"Screw you!" Was Bobby's reply as Jerry spoke up, "I still want my damn money!"

The room immediately erupted once more, everyone talking at once, trying to get their points across. It seemed like a ridiculous way to go about doing things, but around here, there was no such thing as 'being the bigger man and walking away.' No, in the Mercer house, being the bigger man meant fighting tooth and nail until you won. No one was backing down now…

Things were probably one step away from becoming physical, when a new voice was added to the mix, "What on earth is going on in here?" Evelyn stepped into the room and everyone immediately grew silent. She scanned her eyes over each of her children, none of them speaking up right away until finally Sydney answered, "He started it!" She pointed at Angel who gave her a scowl and a little shove before pointing the blame to Jack. In an instant, everyone was yelling at each other again as Evelyn sighed, "That is quite enough!" She didn't yell like the others were doing, she never yelled, but the sternness in her voice was enough to tell everyone that she meant business…The room grew quiet once more.

"Now I don't care who started it because I'm finishing it right now." Exiting the room, Evelyn came back a second later before announcing, "Here's a list of groceries I need to get. The five of you are going to go to the store for me and _work together _to pick up the groceries."

All five groaned. The last thing any of them wanted to do was go grocery shopping, let alone with the other siblings they were fighting with moments before.

"I don't want to hear it. Lord knows I need some peace and quiet…even if for only an hour or so." No one could really blame her. There was always _something_ happening in this house. Whether it was a fight, or things breaking; chaos seemed to be a never-ending cycle.

"You can take my car, here's the list and I'll get you some money to take along." Evelyn said as she handed the grocery list to Sydney who made a face as she glanced at it before shoving it into her pocket.

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The car ride had been fairly silent for the first few moments, Jerry drove Ma's car with Bobby in the passenger seat and the other three sat in the back. Being the youngest and least able to defend herself, Sydney always was smack dab in the middle, squished between Jack and Angel. "Move _over._" She pushed both elbows out to the side, colliding with Jack and Angel's bodies. "It's Angel's fat ass hogging all the room." Jack retorted as he elbowed her back. "Man, shut up." Angel snapped back as he reached behind Sydney to thump Jack upside the head.

"Hey hey hey!" Jerry watched the three through the rearview mirror. "Would you all just shut up? We're almost there anyways. Shit, it's like dealing with a bunch of overgrown children." He mumbled as the three quieted down and he focused his attention back on the road. Sydney rolled her eyes; like he wasn't just fighting with them all back at the house.

They had finally made it to the store, Bobby taking the list from Sydney as he quickly looked it over. He began tearing the list up into fifths, handing each of the strips to one of the siblings. "Alright, get the shit that's on your piece of the list." He told them as Sydney was handed the last strip. She noticed that hers was the longest, "You're not the boss of me." She scowled at him, deciding not to forgive him yet from the fight and chose to be difficult with him.

"Listen to your brother, Syd. The faster we get it done, the faster we can get outta here." Jerry stepped in just as Sydney was about to receive a smack upside the head courtesy of Bobby. The last thing they needed was a brawl inside the grocery store.

Each of siblings split up to get the items on their individual lists. It didn't take long for Sydney to find everything, putting the items in the grocery basket she held as she then went to find Bobby who had the cart. Once she found him, she dumped her items from the basket into the cart as Bobby scanned the stuff.

"That wasn't on the list." He said as he took out the box of Lucky Charms she had picked out, and put them back on a shelf. "So what! Ma let's me get them when I'm with her." Sydney retorted as Bobby scowled at her, "Well you're not with Ma now."

Just then Angel came down the aisle, his arms full of groceries as he dropped them all into the cart. "None of that was on the list!" Sydney argued as she looked at everything Angel had picked out as Bobby continued down the aisle. "Yeah, but he's going to eat all of that stuff. There's no way you can eat a whole box of Lucky Charms by yourself." Bobby replied as Sydney frowned, "Wanna bet?" She challenged as she grabbed the box back off the shelf. Angel looked amused as Sydney opened up the box and reached her hand in, grabbing out a handful of Lucky Charms and popping them into her mouth before getting another handful. "Don't come crying to me when you get sick." Bobby mumbled as he pushed the cart further along, both Sydney and Angel following.

"You're not going to eat that whole box." Angel stated as he watched her intriguingly eat handful after handful. "That's what you think." She told him, her mouth full of cereal. "That's disgusting." He replied as Jack came down the aisle towards them. He looked at Sydney puzzled for a moment before responding, "I don't even want to know." He already knew she was probably doing something stupid that her other brothers put her up to. That happened quite a lot. "I'm winning a bet!" She said with another mouthful of Lucky Charms as Angel retorted, "Seriously, close your mouth. You're spewing everywhere." Sydney snorted with laughter, trying to swallow the food but ended up choking. "See? That's what you get for being stupid." Bobby replied as he gave her a hard smack on the back.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Jerry called out as he came down the aisle, seeing Sydney eat from an unpurchased box of Lucky Charms. He snatched the box away from her as Sydney protested, "Hey!" He closed the box and put it in the cart along with his items. "Can't leave yall alone for five minutes."

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The five had finally made it home, each carrying grocery bags inside the house. Ma greeted them with a smile and a sigh of relief, "See, I knew you guys could do something without killing each other. You didn't get kicked out of the store did you?" She asked skeptically as Jack shook his head with a chuckle, "No Ma. We didn't get kicked out." He told her as she helped him with the bags in his hands. "That's good to hear."

Each of them was putting away the groceries from their bags as Bobby nudged Sydney in the arm. She turned to him as he offered her the box of Lucky Charms, "You still haven't finished it." He told her with a smirk as she took the box and opened, grabbing yet another handful of cereal with an equal smirk on her face.

"Sydney Mercer! Get yourself a bowl. We're not animals here." Ma scolded as Sydney held back a smile as she grabbed a bowl and poured cereal into it. She closed the box and put it back on the counter as Ma grabbed it to put it away. Lifting it up, she got a puzzled look on her face as she shook the box lightly. Looking at the bowl that Sydney had and then opening up the box to check inside, Ma announced, "Half of this box is gone already." The five siblings looked at one another for a moment before Sydney replied in a terrible version of an Irish accent, "Someone must've stole me Lucky Charms!" Everyone gave her a perplexed look before Ma shook her head, putting the box away…Some questions were better left unanswered…

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**Ok ok…corny I know…but I had fun writing it! Lol. **

**Let me know what you think! Please review! Thanks a bunch! :D**


	9. C9: Target Practice

**Once again, thanks so much for those awesome and amazing reviews! Especially thanks to those who never fail to review after every chapter. My loyal followers! Lol. I really do appreciate it.**

**So I have one more final this week and I'll be done for spring break. YES! Lol. It seems like winter quarter dragged on… But I decided to take a little break early though to get this chapter out. **

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**Chapter 9: Target Practice**

"Your aim is shit Jackie-poo." Angel called out as he aimed and shot his airsoft gun, a plastic BB hitting an empty soda can several feet away.

"Man, shut up, at least I'm better than Syd!" Jack replied, shooting his gun as well as Sydney protested, "I've hit more cans than the two of you combined!" She called proudly before shooting off her gun once more, completely missing her target, much to the delight of her two brothers.

"You need glasses or something?" Angel asked before Sydney shot him a scowl and Jack chuckled.

"You were distracting me." She told him defensively, only to get more laughter in reply.

"Hey! What the hell you guys doing? Ma is gunna kill ya if you break one of her windows." Bobby's voice called as he walked over to his three siblings. They had been doing target practice in the alley behind the house, so as to draw less attention. Leave it to Bobby to warn them about being cautious…he was the most reckless of them all.

"We're being careful." Jack assured him as the trio continued their shooting. "Let me try." Bobby insisted after a few moments of watching them, it was only a matter of time before he would want in on the fun anyways. With only three guns, naturally he went for the youngest's. "Let me see it for a second." He told Sydney who looked at him skeptically, but not relinquishing her gun. If she handed it over, there was a slim to none chance he was giving it back.

"Get your own! I was using it first." She protested as Bobby went to try to grab it out of her hands anyways. "Let me just try it once. Besides, you're a girl…go do girl things." Bobby retorted, earning himself another scowl from Sydney. How the hell was she expected to go do 'girl things' growing up in a household full of boys? What the hell was a 'girl thing' anyways?...Syd wasn't giving up the gun that easily.

"Get. Your. Own!" She said through gritted teeth as the two fought over it. Just because he was older didn't mean she necessarily was going to do what he said. He could just as easily use Jack's or Angel's. It was just because she was a _girl_.

"Just let him shoot the gun off a few times." Angel told Sydney annoyed as he and Jack continued to shoot. Yeah, easy for him to say. Once she gave Bobby the gun to use, he'd tell her to go inside, leave the boys alone, and she wouldn't be able to use it again. At least right now she was included in the activities.

"C'mon ya little brat!" Both had similar scowls on their faces as they glared at each other. Finally having enough, Sydney pulled the trigger, the barrel of the gun pointed at Bobby's leg. A hard plastic BB hit his upper leg and he jumped back, letting out a holler. "God damnit! What the hells wrong with you!"

Sydney couldn't help but laugh, and after Jack turned to see what had happened, joined in on the laughter. "Shut up Jackie!" Bobby glared at the laughing Jack before advancing towards Sydney. He didn't get too close before she fired off again, Bobby instinctively jumping to avoid the pellet, but getting hit anyways. He looked like one of those guys in those old westerns, bullets flying at their feet, the guy jumping up and down like an idiot to try and avoid them.

It was Angel's turn to join in on Jack and Sydney's laughing, Bobby looking pissed off as ever as another few BBs flew towards his legs. "Keep it up and see what happens!" Bobby yelled at her, only to get another BB his way. "Dance Bobby, dance!" Jack shouted through his laughter, shooting his own gun towards Bobby's feet. It didn't take long before all three started to do it.

"What wrong Bobby? It's just plastic!" Angel called out as Bobby retreated back as he swore at them.

"Yeah, it's real fuckin' funny isn't it?" Bobby shouted sarcastically as he continued backwards towards the house, still yelling obscenities at them. Reaching the backdoor, Bobby continued inside, slamming the door behind him to drown out the sounds of his three siblings howling with laughter at him.

"What a big baby." Sydney commented before going back to the empty cans to shoot off some more pellets. "That was pretty funny though." Jack added as he and Angel also joined in. "Big Michigan Mauler afraid of little plastic BBs." Angel chuckled as well.

The target practice continued, several minutes passing by as the three competed against one another to see who was the best.

None of them noticed the backdoor slowly opening, a creeping Bobby stepping back out, this time armed. For someone like Bobby, it was a rarity for him to actually be quiet, but this time he succeeded as he snuck up behind his three younger siblings, standing a few feet away before aiming and taking the shot.

"Ah! Mother fucker!" Sydney screeched as she jumped, her hand instinctively grabbing her behind where she found a splotch of paint splattered on her left ass-cheek. Her face was squinted up in pain as she looked over to see Bobby armed with a paint-ball gun. "Hey! That's not fair!" She called over to him, knowing that a welt was most likely already forming on her ass.

Bobby ignored her cries of protest as Angel and Jack both turned to see what had happened before Angel called, "You better not do it." He warned as Bobby grinned, aiming the gun towards Angel and hitting him on the leg. He howled out a string of obscenities before it was Jack's turn. He took off running the other way, but didn't get far before getting a splotch of paint on his back. "Son of a bitch!" Jack shouted as Bobby called back, "You guys are right, this _is_ pretty funny."

"That hurts a lot more than a damn plastic BB you asshole!" Sydney yelled back at him as Bobby decided to shoot off a few more times at the three who were now scattering like rats, trying to avoid the paintballs that were coming their way. Angel tried to fight back, shooting off his airsoft gun towards Bobby who responded by sending paintballs his way. Jack and Sydney tried as well, shooting off their own guns at Bobby who cursed and fired their way. After all, it was still three against one.

"Oooww! That's gunna leave a bruise!" Sydney whined as her arm had been hit, paint getting on her shirt, "And you ruined my shirt!" It had turned into an all out war, the four running around, ducking for cover as they shot off their guns in hope for a hit. "Cry me a fuckin river!" Bobby called back, hiding behind the side of the house, before peeking out to shoot off a few more. A shower of BBs came his way before he ducked back into safety again.

"Hey, I'm all out!" Jack declared as he tried to shoot off the gun again, but no ammo coming out. Bobby let out a loud laugh before calling back, "Well doesn't that fucking suck fairy boy?" Jack grumbled, eyeing the back door, while trying to decide the best way to make a run for it. Angel and Sydney were in a similar boat, both their ammunition dwindling dangerously low.

"Hey you idiots! Knock that shit off!" Jerry's voice had called out as he had looked out the back door, stepping outside momentarily, but jumping back inside, shutting the screen door as Bobby shot off some paintballs his way. "You're getting paint on Ma's house!" Jerry informed him and Bobby immediately stopped aiming at Jerry, instead shooting after a defenseless Jack who had took the opportunity to make a run for the door.

"Ow, fuck! Ow ow..fuck!" Jack yelled as he sprinted, getting hit left and right but finally making it safety inside the house. Bobby continued to laugh as he peered out to see which one was going to run next. Sydney was standing behind the garage and Angel wasn't too far away, ducking safely out of sight. The two made eye contact, Angel doing a few hand motions as Sydney nodded in understanding. On three, both were going to run out of their hiding spots and towards the house. It was much safer if both went at the same time, Bobby would only be able to hit them one at a time.

Angel held up his hand, mouthing out a countdown. _1…2…3._ On three Sydney shot out of her hiding spot, Bobby immediately sending paintballs her way. It was a second later after she had already started running, that she realized Angel hadn't ran out with her. "You traitor!...OW!" She called back at him as she headed towards the house, paintballs hitting her as she ran.

She was a few feet away from the backdoor, Bobby still shooting, when Angel took his chance and ran as well. Bobby was distracted with Sydney and didn't see Angel until last minute when he sent the last of his BB ammunition Bobby's way. "Ah, you fucker!" Bobby shouted as he took a few steps back, Sydney and Angel finally reaching the house and shutting the door behind them.

"Taking one for the team. Good job." Angel laughed as he patted a panting Sydney on the back. Glaring in response she replied, "Yea, I took more than one for the team. You used me as bait you jerk!" Angel shrugged as if he didn't find it a big deal, "It worked didn't it?" She continued to scowl as she checked her body for the welts that were sure to be forming. "Yeah for you it worked." She mumbled as she stomped away to clean off the paint.

Maybe it _was _time she did find girl things to do…hanging with the boys always seemed to leave her injured…

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**Ok, not the best, I know. Had so much trouble with how to end it that I know this way was really crappy. So sorry about that!**

**But I do hope you review! They always make me smile! :D **


	10. C10: Fake ID and the Big 3

**Wow…sorry about the delay. I hate when life gets busy, but I guess that's what keeps it interesting. As always, thanks to all the super spectacular reviews! I can't believe we're already in chapter 10! Hope you enjoy this one! I also apologize about the short length ('that's what he said!'…sorry, couldn't help myself)..But it was a little idea that came to me spur of the moment. Much Sydney and Jack goodness!**

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**Chapter 10: Fake ID and the Big 3**

"Hey Syd." Jack called as he stepped into Sydney's room. "Yeah?" She looked over to him as he leaned in the doorway.

"You got 50 bucks I can borrow?" He asked nonchalantly as Sydney scoffed, "Not for you."

"C'mon. The band needs a new amp. I'm 50 short. I'm gunna pay you back!" Jack protested as Sydney gave him an unconvinced look, "That's what you all say! Every time I give you guys money, none of you pay it back. Nuh uh, the Bank of Sydney is closed." It was true that she was the only one to save any money earned from chores and therefore was always the subject of hustling from her broke brothers. Not her fault that she was the practical one.

"Ah come on." Jack groaned, turning to walk out of the room, knowing it was hopeless.

"Hey, you still doing that open mic tonight?" Sydney called before he could leave. He turned and replied, "Yea, down at Club Uno. It's an 18 and older club so no, you can't come." Jack chuckled, already knowing she would ask to go watch him perform. "Damn. Maybe next time?" She asked hopefully. Jack gave a quick smile and nod, "Yeah."

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The audience clapped as Jack finished his song and made his way offstage. "Hey! Awesome job!" A voice spoke behind him as Jack whirled around.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, puzzled as his younger, under-age sister stood before him with a Cheshire grin. "I know a guy who works here. He let me in since you're my brother. Pretty cool huh?"

Jack didn't look convinced. "Oh yea? What's his name?" He challenged, having been acquainted with most of the club's employees. Sydney shuffled her feet, "John..James..Jason..something like that."

Jack raised his eyebrow. "Let me see it." He said, holding out his hand without having to tell her what he wanted. Sydney let out a groan of defeat, "Fiiine." She opened her purse and pulled out the ID. Jack took it, inspecting it thoroughly before looking back at her. "You made yourself 19." He stated before looking back at the fake card. "Yeah, so?" Sydney replied back, reaching her hand out to take it back but Jack pulled it out of her reach before speaking again, "If you're going to make a fake ID, why would you make yourself under 21?" Jack asked as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

Sydney sighed before replying, "Yeah, originally it was supposed to be 21…but the guy who made it screwed up on the dates…don't think he knows how to count or something…" It seemed that if you were in the fake ID processing business that you would be able to at least get fake birth years right…Only shows the height of incompetence in the world…or at least why the guy couldn't get a real job.

Jack couldn't help but laugh before replying in a serious tone, "Well that's good then. You shouldn't be having one of these anyways." He said, motioning to the card before he started to walk away. "Hey, wait a minute!" Sydney called after him as she started to follow him.

"Don't go all Big Three on me now! You're supposed to be the cool one!" She continued to call after him. The Big Three; also known as the three oldest brothers: Bobby, Jerry, and Angel. The ones that never let her get away with anything and seemingly made it a goal to take the fun out of her life. Jack was the youngest of the boys…closer in age to Sydney…making him the 'fun' brother by default. He never gave a flying F over the things she did as long as she didn't cause herself immediate harm. No, there was no way he could go against the Mercer family hierarchy now!

"The Big Three? Nah, you're lucky I don't pass this along to the Head of State!" Jack called back, laughing at her. Naturally, the Head of State could only be one person: Ma.

"You better not!" Sydney protested as Jack stopped, turning back around to face her. "Oh yeah?" He challenged, keeping the ID out of her reach, an amused smile on his face. "Yea! You gotta give it back." She informed him matter-of-factly, crossing her arms.

Jack stared at her for a moment, a grin plastered on his face. "Sooo…How about that 50 bucks?" He replied as Sydney scowled, "No way." He definitely had been hanging around with their older brothers too much. Their crafty ways were starting to rub off on him. Hustling, swindling, con-artists. "I don't like to get swindled."

Jack shrugged and turned to walk off again, "Ok, you're funeral." Sydney let out a frustrated sigh, "Fine!" Jack turned back around, grinning madly as he knew he had won.

He ignored her sharp glare as he replied in a mocking voice, "Always a pleasure doing business with you little sis."

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**Even though it was short, I still hope it was good. ? . I'm never sure on these things. Anyone catch the one line from a famous 1951 film? You'll get 10 gold stars and a free cookie if ya know it. Haha sorry, I'm a sucker for the old black and whites! **

**Anywho, in regards to the poll, I decided to close it since it looks like Caucasian won by a landslide. And sorry about the crappy name for the club…Club Uno? Yeah, I stole it from a club here in my town…first thing that came into mind! Haha. **

**Well, until next time…Reviews are always amazing! :D **


	11. C11: History Projects and Face Punches

**Wowwie! Already up to 50 reviews! I'm stoked! You don't realize how super amazingly awesome it is to read all of your comments. Thanks everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's full of older brothers being overly protective as usual. Always fun stuff. Lol.**

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**Chapter 11: History Projects and Face Punches**

"Are you sure we should be using Wikipedia?" The boy, Shawn, sitting next to Sydney asked. "Yeah, the majority of stuff on here's true. It should be fine." Sydney assured him as she focused on the laptop screen, scrolling down the webpage as she read. The pair had been partnered up together for a history class project, which of course was put off until last minute.

"It doesn't need to be that great of work. Just as long as it gets done." She continued, scrawling some notes down on a piece of paper as the two sat on her bed. She stopped writing momentarily as she looked over to Shawn, "What are we supposed to be writing about again?" She asked as Shawn shrugged, "Uh…"

He rustled through the papers containing notes and articles about the topic which were spread around them before finding the one that had the assignment on it. "How imperialism lead to World War I." He read aloud as Sydney let out a frustrated groan and crossed out the notes she had taken, realizing they didn't pertain to imperialism or World War I.

"Here, let me try to find something." Shawn offered, turning the laptop towards him. Sydney say next to him with the paper and pen, ready to take notes that might actually help as she looked at the screen.

The two had known each other for a few years, having gone to the same middle school and had a few classes together in high school. So when the teacher paired them together for this project, neither was exactly thrilled. It wasn't because they weren't friends or anything, but actually for the complete opposite reason. They knew each other well enough to know that the other wasn't going to do any more work than they had to. When working in pairs there was one fundamental rule you wanted to follow: Always get paired with the overly-smart, ambitious student because they usually did most or all of the work and you'd still get a good grade even if you did nothing at all. Unfortunately, neither Shawn nor Sydney fell into the 'overly-smart' or 'ambitious' category, forcing the both of them to actually put some effort into this thing. The teacher must've paired them together on purpose…What a sneaky one…

"Try that website." Sydney suggested as she pointed to one from the long list of Google search options. Shawn clicked on it and the pair began to read through the information. It only took a few moments before they both sighed, the boredom evident on their faces.

"Well we kinda talked about this stuff in class, so how about you write half and I'll write the other half of the paper and we'll just put it together and type it up?" Shawn suggested and Sydney nodded before adding, "Yeah, that won't take that long. We can do that tomorrow at school or something." Liking the idea, Shawn closed his laptop, putting it aside as he started to gather the cluttered paper scattered around on Sydney's bed. Putting the project off for another day probably wasn't the smartest idea, but maybe tomorrow they'd feel more up to it. "After all, whatever you don't feel like doing today, put it off until tomorrow." Sydney stated philosophically as Shawn gave a laugh. "I don't think that's how it goes, but it works for me."

"So…now what?" Shawn asked as he sat next to her on her bed, as Sydney shrugged, "I dun know." Shawn looked around her room before standing up, "How about you give me the grand tour of your room?" He asked as Sydney laughed, "Yeah, because it's sooo huge. You might get lost in here." She replied sarcastically as both laughed.

"Hey, ya never know." He answered as he moved towards her bookshelf. Sydney continued to sit on her bed as she watched him pull a book off the shelf and open it. It was a photo album containing photos of the Mercer family. Shawn went through the pages before stopping at one in particular, a huge smile spreading across his face. "What?" Sydney asked, questioning his shit-eating grin as she stood up to see what the big deal was. Shawn ignored her inquiry as he took out one photo from the book before placing the album back on the shelf, his eyes still glued to the picture in his hand.

"That's some hair-do." Was the only thing that came from Shawn's mouth as he flipped over the photo to let Sydney see it. It was a picture of her from a few years back during Halloween when she decided it would be funny to dress as a Hippie, big hair and all. She was rocking an old Grateful Dead T-shirt, tye-dyed pants, a giant afro wig, and a drawn on handle-bar mustache. It wasn't the most flattering picture to say the least.

"Hey, that's not funny." She told him, although she found it hard to fight back the smile that was forming on her lips from the memory. "Actually, it's really funny." Shawn informed her as he looked back at the picture. "How long did it take you to grow the 'stache?"

"Shut up!" She laughed as she tried to grab the picture away from him. He was too quick, moving out of the way as he went back over to the bed, sitting down as he started cracking up. "This is _too_ good."

Giving him a pouting look, Sydney rushed over to him, tackling him on the bed as the two fought over the picture. "Give it back!" She squealed, making him laugh harder as they wrestled over the embarrassing photo. "Nah, I'm keeping this one!" Shawn informed her as he continued to hold the photo just out of her grasp.

"Hey Syd-" A new voice spoke as the door to her bedroom opened. "What the hell!" Jack's surprised voice said as he looked between the two. The wrestling stopped instantly, both realizing how awkward it must have looked with Sydney sprawled on top of some guy on the bed. But hell, they both had their clothes on!

"What're you shouting about now fairy?" Another voice grumbled as Sydney inwardly groaned. _Here we go_. She scrambled to try and get off of Shawn before- "The fuck!" …before _that_ happened. Bobby pushed his way into the room, and of course Angel followed closely behind. It always seemed like wherever there was one, another was sure to follow.

"Hey, wait a minute! It's definitely not what you think. I was just trying to-" Sydney's protests fell upon deaf ears as Bobby grabbed Shawn, hauling him to his feet and shoving him forcefully onto the wall. "The fuck you think you're doing!" He shouted at a horrified looking Shawn as Sydney stood to go to his rescue before being grabbed by the back of her shirt and pulled back to meet an angry looking Angel. "Are you stupid or something?" He asked her rhetorically as she gave him an annoyed glare.

"We were doing homework!" She protested as Angel scoffed, letting out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, I used to use that same excuse all the time home-girl. Let me guess, you guys studying up on physical education?" Angel snapped back as Bobby finally took his predator like gaze off of Shawn momentarily to give a rather disgusted look towards Angel; obviously not wanting to have the thought or image of his little sister like that. It was enough to piss him off even more as he focused his attention back on Shawn again, swinging his fist and connecting with the side of Shawn's face.

"Motherfu-MA!" Sydney yelled, hoping Evelyn would come to the rescue before Bobby or Angel decided to pound him to a pulp. It didn't take long before Evelyn was standing in the doorway, trying to take in the situation in front of her. "Bobby! Let go of that boy!" Bobby chose to ignore her, never taking his eyes off of the kid before him, a dark bruise already starting to form on his cheek. "We were doin' homework Ma!" Sydney defended her and Shawn although Evelyn had already known that the kid had come over so they could finish their history project.

"She's in her room with the door shut, on her bed, on top of some punk!" Angel protested back, his grip still firm on the back of her shirt. "Bobby, let him go. I'm not going to ask again." Evelyn remained calm, yet the sternness in her voice was clear. Very reluctantly, Bobby took a step back, waiting for even a small excuse to jump back on him. "I knew he was over here because they needed to finish a school project." Evelyn informed Angel, not concerning herself over the accusations coming from her two sons.

"Come here dear. We'll get you fixed up." Evelyn spoke softly to Shawn as he glanced warily over at Bobby who still had a death glare focused on him. Sydney pushed herself away from Angel and went over to Shawn, making sure to bump into Bobby before putting a reassuring arm around Shawn's shoulders. "Sorry my brothers are complete assholes." She told him, making sure that the rest heard as she glared at her two brothers. "I-I think I should go now." Shawn mumbled as Angel interjected, "Yeah, I think you should." Evelyn scowled at him before helping Shawn out of the room and towards the bathroom. "Nonsense. You don't worry about them. We'll get you fixed up and you'll be good as new. I do apologize about my sons though…they can be a little…quick to react." Evelyn continued to try and comfort the kid as Sydney went to follow them.

Making her way to leave her room, Bobby stopped her, a hard scowl glaring down at her. "If you get pregnant I swear to god I'll shove my foot so far up your ass-" He began to threaten as Sydney interrupted him, an equal scowl of her own, "Our clothes are still on, you dumbass." Pushing past him, she made her way towards the bathroom.

"Thanks ma'am, I uh…thanks." Shawn told Evelyn awkwardly as she placed a cold washrag on his face. Evelyn watched him sympathetically, this not being the first time she had to nurse a poor kid back to health that one of her sons irrationally beat up. Sydney stood in the doorway to the bathroom, looking apologetically at Shawn's embarrassed expression as Evelyn continued, "So, you'll be staying for dinner right?"

Sydney couldn't help but smile at her history partner's horrified expression. _Welcome to the dysfunctional world of the Mercers._

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**Not exactly sure how I feel about this chapter. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, but then I started typing and these characters just had a mind of their own and I came up with this. Lol. Don't know if I'm going to have more chapters where Shawn makes an appearance or if he's scared away for good. Let me know! ;P**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Reviews are amazing! **


	12. C12: Checking Out the New Crib

**Yay for reviewers, favorers, and alerters! Lol, you guys are super amazing and make my day! :D **

**Hey, how about them Red Wings? They've been completely dominating Phoenix! Bobby Mercer would be proud. Heehee**

**Anywho, on with the story! **

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**Chapter 12: Checking Out the New Crib**

"Wow Jerry...you could be on MTV Cribs!" Sydney whistled, her tone sounding like she was very impressed with what she saw. Jerry scoffed, giving her a slight shove, "Quit being a smartass. C'mon, I wanna show you guys around." Jerry led his four siblings inside his recently bought and decorated house where he and his soon-to-be wife Camille now lived.

It was a nice little three bedroom house, great for a starter home where two people could start a family. Fortunately, this was the case because Camille was now about six months pregnant. The siblings had helped Jerry and her move all their stuff into the house, but Camille insisted that she wanted to get everything set up, decorated, and perfect before Jerry finally revealed the finished product to his family. It's surprising how anal retentive a pregnant woman can be. Sydney giggled at the thought..._Maybe if Jerry had been more 'anal retentive' with Camille, she wouldn't have gotten knocked up in the first place…_

"What's so funny?" Jerry questioned, puzzled at her Cheshire-like smirk. Apparently he thought she was laughing at his house. "Nothing...continue with the tour Mr. Real Estate." Jerry shrugged her off, accustomed to her usual odd antics, as he led the group into the kitchen. Jack and Sydney trailed behind as Jack gave her a peculiar look. "I'll tell you later." Sydney whispered, which seemed to satisfy Jack as he followed his brothers into the kitchen. On second thought, no…she wasn't going to share that with Jack…she'd spare him the mental image.

"Man, you're gonna have to be throwing some parties up in here!" Angel commented energetically to Jerry who shook his head. Camille entered the room just in time to throw in, "Ah no, none of you are throwing a party here and destroying our house. I know how you guys are." She told them, a knowing smirk on her lips as Angel's face grew disappointed.

"Well Jerr, I gotta say, you're moving up in the world." Bobby commented as he opened Jerry's fridge and helping himself to a beer. Jerry must have stocked up, knowing his older brother was coming over. "Yeah really, where are you getting all this money from?" Jack asked as he went for a beer as well before Bobby slapped his hand away.

"It's called having a job, Jack." Jerry replied as Jack smirked, _Touché._

"Let me show you the living room." Jerry continued. Once in the living room, Angel and Sydney stopped when they saw the entertainment center, and most importantly, the TV. It was much larger than the one they had at home with speakers and the whole shebang. The two siblings exchanged a look and then in a split second, raced to the couch, Angel yanking Sydney back by her shirt as they ran, causing Angel to reach the remote first.

He clicked on the TV as he and Sydney plopped down on the couch, propping their feet on the coffee table before them. "Damn Jerry, that's a nice ass TV. Hopefully no one comes in here and steals it." Bobby commented as he walked over to the entertainment system, his tone of voice implying that he would be the one to come in here and take it. "You do that and I'll kick ya ass." Jerry replied as Bobby sat on the couch next to Sydney.

"Your mom should be here in a few minutes. She's bringing over some take-out for everyone." Camille announced as she got off the phone and walked to where the group had formed around the TV. "I know you guys don't have your feet on my coffee table." Camille said, a hand on her hip as she stood behind the couch where in fact Bobby, Sydney, Angel, and now Jack did indeed have their feet on the table. A few mumbles of protest later and all the feet were back on the floor. "That's right, don't mess with a pregnant woman." She told them triumphantly as she moved to sit on the recliner.

The TV show _Cops_ was on and Sydney couldn't help but let out a smile, leaning over to Angel before whispering, "I wonder when we're going to see Bobby's ugly mug on this show." Angel laughed at the comment and a second later Sydney let out a loud, "OW!" Apparently she hadn't whispered quietly enough because Bobby had socked her hard on her shoulder. The other boys laughed as Camille shook her head and Sydney held her arm, a pained expression on her face. Bobby wasn't the one to go soft when it came to his punches. "Shit-head." He mumbled before focusing back on the TV.

"So Jerry..." Jack broke the silence moments later, "You know my birthday is coming up..." He trailed off as Jerry raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? And?"

Jack continued, "Well Moneybags, a TV like _this_ would look pretty cool in my room..." Jerry rolled his eyes at Jack's not-so-subtle hint. "Keep dreaming kid."

A knock on the door interrupted Jack's pitiful technique at weaseling a TV from Jerry. Camille answered the door where Evelyn stood on the other side. She had a couple bags of take-out food in one hand, and a few other bags from the grocery store in the other. "Oh, let me help you with those." Camille offered as Evelyn shook her head, "No dear, I got it. You should be sitting down." Evelyn replied as she made her way into the kitchen, Camille following behind her. "What's all this?" She asked as Evelyn smiled warmly and started to unload the groceries from the bags. "I had to buy you guys some groceries. I can't let you two starve." Camille started to help her, commenting that her buying all this food really wasn't necessary. Evelyn waved it off and peeked her head into the living room, "Bobby, could you go out to the car and get the rest of the groceries for me please?" She asked before going back into the kitchen.

Bobby, however, didn't move from his spot as he looked expectantly at Sydney, "You heard her. Get to it." He told her as Sydney scoffed, "Yeah, she told _you_ to do it." Another punch to the arm quickly persuaded Sydney to go get the groceries. She rubbed her already sore and probably bruising arm as she stood up, giving a glare to Bobby, "Jerk-off" she mumbled defiantly before heading out to the car.

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"So did you pick out a name for the rugrat yet?" Bobby asked as they all sat at the kitchen table, eating the Chinese food Ma had bought. The table wasn't particularly big enough to fit seven people, but they made it work, having to squeeze in a few folding chairs to seat everyone. "We have a couple names picked out for her." Camille replied as she gave an affectionate smile towards Jerry.

"Personally, I think Sydney-Jr. is an awesome name." Sydney put her two-cents in on the matter as she got a few scoffs and raised eyebrows in response. "God help us all if she turns out to be a mini Sydney." Jerry commented jokingly as the others laughed. With a faux scowl, Sydney replied, "You just better hope she doesn't turn out like _him_." She said motioning over to Bobby, "But if that's the case, I guess then you could call her Bobbina." Luckily, she was sitting far enough away from Bobby to where he couldn't reach her and abuse her arm once again.

"Well whatever you decide, I'm sure the name will be perfect." Ma said with a smile, stopping the situation from escalating before Bobby could open his mouth to say something in response.

"Bobbina..." Jack whispered to himself, shaking his head as a laugh escaped him. Sydney giggled at Jack as she sat next to him. She couldn't help if she was funny...

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**Hmm…not sure how I felt about this chapter. But I think I say that about every chapter, so I don't know. Lol. **

**Anyways, I look forward to reading your comments! Please review!**


	13. C13: Easter Eggs      Everywhere

**Happy Easter everyone! Once again, you guys rock! Thanks for all the reviews. They were nice birthday presents :) **

**And to celebrate Easter, I think we need a special Easter chapter. :D Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 13: Easter Eggs...Everywhere **

"Oh darn it..." Ma spoke as she looked inside one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out an almost empty bottle of vinegar. "I bought all those eggs and forgot to buy the vinegar for the egg dye."

Sydney sat at the kitchen table, several cups laid out before her with a carton of hard-boiled eggs ready to be dyed. "Can you go to the store?" Sydney asked hopefully as Evelyn gave her a smile. She was happy at least one of her children didn't feel like they were too old to color eggs with her. Sydney had asked her brothers if they had wanted to help, but she only received snarky remarks such as, '_How old are you? Five?_' Sydney didn't care. She had painted eggs every year since she had come to the Mercer family. The first year, Evelyn had to explain the whole tradition to a young, skeptical Sydney. The egg dying, egg hiding, and then egg finding traditions of Easter seemed very strange to her, but after the first year of actually participating in the activities, she was hooked.

"You can use the rest of this bottle and start with a couple of colors, and I'll go to the store for some more." Ma said as she placed what was left of the bottle of vinegar on the table as Sydney grinned, "Thanks!"

As Evelyn left, Sydney found that there was enough vinegar for three colors, so she mixed the dye and stuck an egg in each color. "Are you seriously doing that?" Bobby asked as he walked into the kitchen and eyed the eggs and dye on the table. "Yeah, so shove it." Sydney replied as she looked at the eggs inside the cups, already knowing she was probably going to get shit for coloring eggs.

"Ok fine, Easter Scrooge." Bobby replied as Sydney gave him a strange look. "You're being bitchy." Bobby shrugged at his explanation as he grabbed an egg from the carton.

"You can't eat them yet! It's not even dyed!" She protested, already knowing Bobby couldn't help himself when there was food on the table…none of her brothers could. "Calm down…it's just one. There's still going to be enough eggs so little Syd can go have an Easter Egg Hunt…" He cooed mockingly as he ruffled her hair.

"Shut up." She mumbled as she swatted his hands away and fixed her hair, trying to ignore him as she took one of the eggs out of the blue-dye and placed it back in the carton, it had turned a pretty sapphire color.

"Whatever. I'm still eating it." He muttered before Sydney felt something smack on top of her head. "Ow! What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked as she rubbed her head, looking over to find that Bobby had cracked his hard-boiled egg on top of her head.

"Had to crack open my egg. Thanks." Bobby shrugged as if it was nothing before heading out of the kitchen. "You're going to give me brain damage!" She shouted back at him only to get the reply, "You've already got brain damage!"

Rubbing her head for a second longer, Sydney checked the eggs being dyed before getting up and opening the refrigerator. Inside were two more cartons of eggs. She opened one up, remembering that Ma had said that one carton had more hard-boiled eggs to dye, and the other was uncooked eggs that she was going to use for baking. Sydney grabbed an egg from the hard-boiled carton before sneaking into the living room. Bobby was sitting in the recliner, watching TV as Sydney slipped beside him and smacked the egg on top of Bobby's head. Instead of denting the egg, however, the entire thing broke…raw egg now dripped down Bobby's head.

"I thought it was cooked!" Sydney's explanation quickly leaving her mouth as she stared horrified at an equally horrified-looking Bobby as he wiped egg out of his face. He hadn't said a word yet…that wasn't a good sign. He slowly stood up as Sydney watched him, and despite the shock written on her face, she couldn't help but let out a little laugh. Bobby turned to look at her and the two stood there silent for a moment. A tumbleweed should have rolled by because it reminded Sydney of a stand-off you see in one of those old Western movies.

A few moments later, as Bobby's shock turned to anger, he yelled out, "You're dead!" And that was all it took for Sydney to turn around and start running as Bobby chased her into the kitchen. A hard-boiled egg hit her on her back before falling to the ground and cracking as Bobby went to grab another from the table to throw. "Hey, hey!" Sydney yelled, "You're breaking all my eggs!" She protested as she tried to duck behind a chair as another egg was chucked at her.

"Yeah! And once I catch you, I'm gunna break the rest of them on your thick skull!" Bobby threatened as he made a move towards her just as she bolted from her spot and ran to the other side of the kitchen, dodging eggs that were thrown at her.

Fortunately, the heavens opened up and once again, Ma came to the rescue. She stepped in through the back down, stopping in her tracks as she took in the scene before her. There was only a few hard boiled eggs that scattered the floor and the little bit of raw egg from Bobby's head that dripped onto the floor, not leaving too much of a mess. Luckily, she had gotten home before they had started throwing the egg dye.

Bobby and Sydney stood there motionless, watching for their Ma's reaction. Setting the newly-bought vinegar on the table, Ma simply went to the fridge and pulled out the second carton of hard-boiled eggs. Clearly, she knew which carton was the raw and which was the cooked...unlike Sydney who had accidently grabbed from the raw carton and smashed the egg on Bobby's head...

"Why don't you go clean yourself up Bobby?" She said, no anger in her voice as she calmly picked up the few eggs that had been thrown on the ground. Bobby nodded before glaring over at Sydney, pointing threatening at her before leaving the kitchen.

Once he was out of the room, Sydney looked back over to Evelyn, about to explain that Bobby had started it, but stopped when Evelyn started laughing. Sydney watched her, taken aback as Evelyn went to sit down, wiping a tear from her eye as she continued to laugh. "He looked pretty funny with that egg all over his head." She laughed before giving a triumphant wink to Sydney.

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A little while later, all the eggs had been dyed and Sydney had told Ma that she would clean up the cups of dye since she and idiot Bobby had already made somewhat of a mess. Now standing at the kitchen sink, Sydney washed out the cups, watching as the water turned different colors before draining.

Through the running water, Sydney had thought she heard the faint sound of an egg cracking, but before she could turn around to investigate, Bobby had run up behind her, pulling back the waistband of her pants and dropping the egg-yolk and goo inside the back of her pants. "EWWW!" She shrieked, and Bobby pushed her backwards, making her fall on her ass and squish into the egg goo before laughing hysterically. "It's all squishy!" She whined, making Bobby laugh harder. She sat on the floor, a pathetic look on her face as she tried to take in the fact that there was raw egg in her pants. A moment later she tried to get up, not liking the feeling of egg-yolk in her pants.

"That's what you get ass-wipe!" Bobby managed to say through his laughter as Sydney's face had a mixture of scowl and disgust. "Now go wipe your ass!" He continued before pushing her back on the ground once more and laughing his way out of the kitchen.

Sydney grumbled as she picked herself back up from the floor and moving to the refrigerator, arming herself with two raw eggs before heading upstairs to change her clothes. The swishing of egg goo in her pants was less than pleasant….Of course Bobby laughed the whole time she walked up the stairs.

"You're walking funny..." Jack had pointed out as she made it upstairs and towards the bathroom. "Shut up." Sydney grumbled, just trying to make it to the bathroom without anyone getting in her way.

"Tell me that's not egg in your pants." He continued anyways, seeing the trail of goo she was leaving behind as she walked. "You're looking like a snail right now. You've got a trail behind you." Jack couldn't help but laugh as Sydney glared at him before slamming the bathroom door in his laughing face.

Sydney could hear Jack call down the steps, "Is Sydney laying eggs now?" He laughed and Bobby could be heard downstairs, joining in on the laughter as well.

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After cleaning herself up, Sydney moved back downstairs, the two raw eggs now hiding in her pockets. She was careful not to break them though…not wanting to repeat the feeling of egg in her pants.

Sydney quickly sneaked to the front door where several pairs of shoes had been thrown into a pile, each pair belonging to one of the kids, all too lazy to put them away. Sydney bent down, taking the two eggs out of her pocket and grabbing a pair of Bobby's shoes. She quickly cracked one of the eggs and dropped the goo into his shoe, swishing it towards the front of his shoe so he wouldn't notice it until he put his foot inside. She did the same to the second shoe before gathering up the shells and walking innocently back into the kitchen.

She hadn't quite finished washing out all the cups of dye since Bobby had interrupted her with egg-in-the-pants, so she decided to finish the cleaning. A shit-eating grin never left Sydney's face as she thought about what Bobby's reaction would be like after he discovered the eggs in his shoes.

It didn't take long before a loud, "What the hell!" was heard coming from the hallway. Sydney scrunched up her face in confusion, the voice hadn't belonged to Bobby...but instead...

"What the fuck is in my shoes?" Angel yelled enraged as Sydney let out a small snort of laughter from the kitchen. Ok, so maybe Bobby and Angel's shoes looked alike. It wasn't her fault that they couldn't buy a different style of shoe..._Ooops_.

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**Lol hope you liked it! Last night my uncle thought it would be funny to crack a hard-boiled egg on my head, so that's partly where I got the idea for this. What a jerk...Haha :P **

**Anyways, hope everyone has a great, fun-filled Easter! Is the Easter Bunny going to visit me with some reviews? I hope so... :D **


	14. C14: Hey, Hey HockeyTown!

**Once again, thank you all for the awesome reviews! Makes my day! And a special thanks to those who have sent their ideas. I know I'm slow, but I'm planning on one of those ideas to show up in the next chapter. But for this chapter, I decided to do a hockey-themed one, since it seemed appropriate for the Stanley Cup playoffs going on. And, that maybe it will bring a little good luck to the Red Wings tomorrow since they only need one more win against San Jose. Seriously, they've made such an awesome comeback! Also, since I'm not sure the specific year that this story takes place, I'm just going to use the current hockey players of this year. Lol, anywho hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 14: Hey, Hey, Hockeytown!**

"Yeah, I heard his dad got season tickets."

"No way!"

"No, I'm serious. He's a lucky bastard. Already been to all the home games so far."

"Must be rich."

"What I heard is his dad went to school with Mike Babcock, the coach, and so that's how he got the tickets."

"Nah, he's just bullshittin' you. That's not true."

The group of teenagers continued to gossip at lunch, the one time during a school day where kids actually got 40 minutes of freedom.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" A girl, Stephanie, had asked as she joined the group of five kids, setting her tray on the table before sitting down to join them.

"Justin Owen's dad got season tickets to the Wings games." Sydney eagerly spread the news as Stephanie looked over to her, confused.

"And we're excited about this because…?" She trailed off, not seeing what was so great about season tickets to a sports game. The group grew quiet as they exchanged glances with one another.

Finally, one of Sydney's friends, Rachel spoke, "You still got a lot to learn, Steph. You're in Hockey Town now." Stephanie had only just recently moved to Detroit, only being there a few months after having to move from Oregon after her dad got a different job. Sydney's group of friends had quickly taken her under their wing, but it seemed that they haven't taught her enough.

"Oh…" Came Stephanie's response, "I never really was a big fan of hockey…my parents sometimes watch baseball though." The group, with the exception of Stephanie, began laughing as one of the boys commented, "Well that'll have to change. Don't worry, you'll be a Wing-nut in no time." He informed her as the others nodded. "A what?" She questioned, just as confused as ever.

"What are you doing tonight?" Sydney cut in as Stephanie shrugged, "I don't know…probably nothing."

"Good, because you're coming over to my place tonight to watch the game. It starts at six."

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"Ok, wait a minute. So what you're saying is she doesn't like hockey because she's never watched a game?" A few hours later Sydney was back at home, in the kitchen, preparing snacks for everyone as Bobby interrogated her, his shock very evident when she had told him about her friend coming over to watch the game.

Sydney shrugged, "Yeah, she says her family watches baseball." It was Angel's turn to enter the conversation, giving a laugh, "She does know where she lives right? I mean, this _is_ Detroit. '_Hey, hey, Hockey Town'_?" He, very badly, sang the line from the well-known Detroit song as he also performed a very cheesy dance to it as well. Sydney shook her head, "Nope. She wouldn't know it. She just moved here from Oregon."

"Oregon? I heard they're weird over there." Angel commented as Sydney scoffed, "Not as weird as a grown black man dancing around like an idiot." Angel sneered as Sydney ducked a smack upside the head.

"Looks like she's got a lot to learn then." Jack added as the other boys nodded. "That's why she's coming over." Sydney responded as she carried two big bowls of chips to the living room as her brothers followed, Jack carrying the dip.

A little while later, the doorbell rang and Sydney, clad in her #13 jersey, the name 'Datsyuk' printed on the back, ran to the door and opened it. Sydney let out a groan seeing as it was only Angel's girlfriend, Sofi standing there. "Nice to see you too." Sofi said sarcastically at Sydney's less than welcoming attitude. Sydney moved out of the way to let her in, a plate of food was in Sofi's hands as she made her way into the kitchen to prepare it for everyone. Apparently, she was just over to drop off the food she had made, then she'd be gone again until Angel was done watching the game.

"Is your little friend here?" Bobby called from the living room as Sydney entered, "Nah, it was only '_Yo Quiero Taco Bell'_" Sydney answered in her best Spanish accent as Bobby started laughing and Angel got up from his seat to go into the kitchen and greet Sofi. Passing by, Angel finally managed to give a quick slap to the back of Sydney's head, who only laughed more as she rubbed the now sore spot on her head. "You're spending way too much time around him." Angel mumbled, taking notice of the eerie similarity between Syd and Bobby.

After giving a quick high-five to Bobby, the doorbell rang once more and Sydney didn't hesitate to go over and open it. Stephanie stood there, a little unsure of herself, before letting out a smile and a sigh of relief. "I was afraid I was going to get the wrong house."

"Nope, you got it right. Come on it." Sydney responded as she led Stephanie inside into the kitchen to introduce her to everyone. "Ok, so that's my brothers Angel, Jerry and Jack." She said, pointing to each and continuing, "That's Sofi, Angel's girlfriend. Everyone, this is Stephanie…Alright, let's go into the living room." Sydney kept the introductions short, not giving much time for either side to even say 'hi.' It wasn't like her family embarrassed her, it was just that she'd rather keep introductions short before one of her brothers decided to say or do something embarrassing. They were prone to doing so.

Sydney led Stephanie into the living room where Bobby lounged on the couch, watching the pre-show. "And that lump over there is my other brother Bobby." She introduced as Bobby nodded his head towards Stephanie in acknowledgement, "So you must be the anti-Christ who doesn't like hockey." Bobby commented as Sydney gave him a scowl and Stephanie looked a little taken aback. "Shut up Bobby. Don't listen to him, he's an idiot." Sydney said to her friend before heading upstairs to give her a quick tour of the rest of the house.

"So _all_ of them are your brothers?" Stephanie had asked in a quiet whisper as she followed Sydney up the stairs. Letting out a chuckle, Sydney nodded, "Yep, we're all adopted." She was so used to her family, that she almost forgot it would seem strange to someone who didn't know the fact that they were adopted.

"Oh…" Stephanie replied in understanding. "Yeah, there's also our Ma who lives here, but she's out with Jerry's fiancée shopping or something. You'll probably meet them sometime too." Sydney replied. Ma had decided to take Camille out for a girl's day out. Sydney never usually went along, it's not like she wasn't invited, it was just that she was usually busy doing stuff with the guys. Oh how her life would be different if she had four sisters instead. But sadly, she was stuck with four smelly, testosterone-driven boys. The thought made her sigh.

"Hurry up! The games on!" Jerry's voice carried through the house to signal the start of the game as everyone rushed back to the living room.

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After much arguing, the sitting arrangements had finally been decided, mainly by Bobby and Jerry, and while all the boys had managed to fit themselves on the couch and recliner, the two girls were stuck on the floor in front of the TV. _Typical_.

The National Anthem was currently being sung on the TV as the game was about to start. "Eww! What the heck is that?" Stephanie commented as the camera zoomed in on an octopus that had ceremoniously been thrown onto the ice. Sydney couldn't help but let out a laugh. Steph did have a lot to learn.

"It's a tradition to throw an octopus onto the ice during a home game." Jerry explained, giving her the short version of the ritual. Stephanie's face held nothing but repulsion and complete confusion, making everyone else laugh. "You'll get used to it. Hockey is full of strange traditions." Jack commented. "I guess so…" Stephanie replied before turning back to the screen.

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Only a few minutes had passed into the game and the room was completely silent, everyone's eyes focused on the TV screen as they watched the puck go back and forth. Stephanie looked around at the group, amazed on how focused everyone was on one hockey game. It wasn't until a little while later that Jack finally spoke up. "Hey, quit hogging the Doritos, pass them over!" He said as he looked over towards Stephanie and Sydney who sat on the floor, a large bowl of Doritos in between them.

"Nuh uh." Sydney replied, stuffing another Dorito into her mouth, "You eat your Cheetos and shut up." She chomped happily on the chip. Sitting in the recliner behind the girls, Jerry leaned forward and stealthily snatched the bowl for himself and Jack, "Thank you." He told them sarcastically.

"Hey!" Sydney protested, standing up to retrieve the bowl back.

"Move your ass!" Angel snapped as Sydney had stood right in front of the TV. "Yeah, come on! We're missing it!" Bobby added, throwing a handful of popcorn at her before she sat back down with a defeated sigh. "We'll get the goods back at intermission."Sydney confided to Stephanie who nodded with a grin, apparently finding the dynamics between the siblings quite amusing.

"GO GO GO!" Bobby shouted suddenly, sitting a little straighter in his seat, eyes glued to the screen. Detroit's #40 , Henrik Zetterberg had just stolen the puck and raced towards the other end of the ice to the opponent's goal, no defensemen in the way to stop him as he shot the puck.

"C'mon Zetty!" Sydney cheered as everyone held their breath in anticipation as they watched the puck fly towards the goal.

"Son of a bitch!" Angel yelled in protest as the puck was only inches away from going inside the net, but instead hit the pole of the goal and bounced away. "Bullshit." Jack added as the tension in the room died down and the game continued on, scoreless. Sydney had let out a groan of frustration, but was satisfied to see that Stephanie had the same look of disappointment on her face as all the other Mercers.

The game continued on, finally coming to the first intermission. The score was still tied at zero, but no one was giving up hope yet. "You know, I'm gunna play for the Wings one day." Bobby commented proudly, making conversation with Stephanie. Sydney snorted, "Yeah right, they'll be making you clean up the octopus guts." The comment earned her a scowl and another handful of popcorn thrown towards her.

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It wasn't until the beginning of the third period when there was finally a goal made…And of course, that goal wasn't made by the Wings.

"Goddamnit!"

"That's complete bullshit!"

"Fuckers!"

"Douchebags!"

And a few more obscenities were shouted by each of the Mercers in complete protest of the opposing team making a goal. Especially making a goal before the Red Wings did…

Stephanie looked around in alarm. Each Mercer was on their feet, shouting at the TV as if yelling would somehow reverse the puck making it into the Wing's goal. She was afraid things were one step away from getting violent…she definitely wouldn't want to be the TV at that moment.

It only took a moment later for the mood to completely change and shouts of approval were heard. "Yeah! Get him!" Bobby yelled as Stephanie looked back to the screen. Red Wings player, #44 Todd Bertuzzi was now fighting with another player. She watched in amazement as the gloves came off, quite literally, and the two men exchanged punches. It lasted for a few moments before the refs broke it up and both men headed for the benches.

"They're allowed to do that?" She asked curiously, almost intrigued that a fist-fight had just broken out. "Yeah! Bertuzzi is a badass!" Sydney chimed in, a grin on her face at the recent bout of violence. "Hmm…cool." Stephanie commented, impressed with what she saw.

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Just when the third period seemed hopeless, the Wings finally scored. Once again, everyone was on their feet, this time shouting in victory and excitement. Stephanie had even jumped up, before she had even realized it, and cheered along with the Mercers. Sydney and Stephanie exchanged a high-five and Stephanie grinned, "You're right, this is exciting."

In the end, the final score came out to be 2-1, the Red Wings winning and advancing to the next round.

"That's what I'm talking about! Fuckin' skills!" Bobby shouted triumphantly, downing one of the many beers he had had during the game.

The TV then announced that the next game would happen the following Saturday as Stephanie looked over to Sydney, a half-smile already forming on her face, "Um…do you think I could come over Saturday?" She asked gently as Sydney grinned, slapping a friendly hand on her back, "See? I told ya you'd be hooked!"

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**Wow...sorry that was so wishy-washy. I thought it would be easy to write about this, but I had a really hard time with it, and I wasn't about to write out a whole hockey game. Lol.**

**Hockey is kinda a big thing at my house, so I basically just figured the Mercers would be kinda the same way…very loud and expressive during a game. Haha.**

**And if you aren't a hockey fan, I hope I didn't bore or confuse you too much. But, I suggest you all watch tomorrow's (Thursday) game #7...it should be intense since one of the teams is going to be eliminated...But what I really mean to say is that San Jose is going to get their asses handed to them and the Red Wings will have won 4 straight games. Haha in your face Sharks. **

**Haha, anywho, reviews are absolutely amazing and much appreciated! :D **


	15. C15: Rocket Fun and Fiery Inferno

**Wow…sorry this took so long! The last few weeks of college proved to be academic hell. But luckily summer is finally here and hopefully it will prove to be nice and relaxing.**

**A big thank you once again for those who have reviewed. They really make my day!**

**The following chapter is kinda 4****th**** of July themed I suppose, but I'll post it early so you don't have to wait any longer! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 15: Rocket Fun and Fiery Inferno **

"Syd…Syd…_Sydney_!" Sydney finally snapped her eyes up to Jack who had been trying to get her attention despite the fact that she had her Ipod turned up too loud for her to hear him.

Taking the earphones out of her ears, Sydney gave her brother and expectant look as he continued, "Are you the only one here?" He asked, looking as if he couldn't contain his excitement.

"No…you're here too…bugging _me_ for some reason." Sydney replied as she started to put her earphones back in. She noticed Jack roll his eyes before a grin started to reappear on his face. "Well, I was gunna be nice and let you in on something cool, but since you'd rather be a brat…" He started to turn away to leave before Sydney stopped him, "What is it?" She asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but in all honesty was curious. After all, it wasn't very often one of her brothers came to her to let her in on some cool secret…she usually had to pout her way into being involved in their activities.

Jack flashed her a mischievous grin before heading off towards his room. Taking that as her cue to follow, Sydney got up from her bed, abandoning her Ipod as she went to see what Jack was up to.

"Woah…sweet." Sydney said as she walked into Jack's room where he was admiring what looked to be like some sort of big rocket. It had to be at least half of her height.

"It's a firework." He responded proudly as he held it in his hands, flipping it over to read the instructions printed on the side of the rocket.

"Cool…" Sydney said, looking at it wide-eyed with fascination as she then continued, "Where'd you get it? The 4th of July isn't for a few months." She questioned, not thinking that firework stands would start selling _this _early.

"I bought it from a friend. He had a bunch of stuff left over from last year." Jack told her definitely as Sydney leaned over to look at the lengthy _WARNING_ label attached underneath the instruction sticker.

"Soooo…" Sydney began, ignoring the label and looking at Jack, then back at the rocket, "You gunna wait until the 4th to…you know…" She trailed off, not wanting to sound too eager, but the look that Jack gave her showed her that waiting was the last thing he wanted to do.

Jack scoffed, "Are you kidding me?" He pushed past her, rocket in hand as Sydney followed closely behind, a large grin now plastered on her face as they headed outside.

The pair headed to the alley behind the house as Jack sat the rocket upright and then fished through his pockets before pulling out a lighter and cigarette.

Sydney scrunched up her nose in disgust as he lit the cigarette for himself before noticing the look his sister was giving him. "Shut up." he gave her a slight shove before offering her the lighter, "You wanna light it?"

Despite wanting to, Sydney shook her head, "Nah, I'm just the accomplice. You go for it." Not only that, but she could just see it being her luck and having the whole thing blow her hand off or something if she tried lighting it. Jack shrugged, stepping forward to do the honors. "So it's just supposed to shoot up, right?" Sydney asked, only slightly anxious as Jack flicked on the lighter and aimed it at the fuse. "Yea, I guess so." He replied without concern, cigarette still in his mouth as he lit the rocket and shuffled back quite a few steps away from it.

Sydney followed his actions, moving to what she decided was a safe distance away from the rocket. The hissing sound of the lighted fuse shortening was all that could be heard as the two stood silent, anticipation written all over their faces.

It only took a few seconds before the sound stopped and Sydney looked over to Jack, confused when the rocket didn't go. "Maybe it's defect-" The rest of her words were drowned out by a loud _BANG_ that made both of the Mercers jump back in alarm as the rocket left the ground, soaring to the sky as it let out a long, ear-piercing squeal.

Seconds later the rocket was out of eye-sight as it had seemed to shoot up and then zoom over the house. "Holy fuck." Jack spoke as the two raced towards the front of the house in hopes of seeing where it had gone. The squeal of the rocket could still be heard as the two made it to the front lawn and watched in helplessness as it made it across the street and into the neighbor, The Thompson's front yard. The squealing had stopped as the rocket fell onto the grass. Jack and Sydney looked at each other as she asked, "Was that it?" Jack didn't reply, but cautiously started to move towards the landed firework before stopping abruptly as another _BANG_ was heard and hundreds of different colored embers shot from the rocket, sounding as if several guns were being shot spontaneously.

Neighborhood dogs started barking as the rocket continued to go. Both siblings watched in horror as the sparks landed on the lawn, causing it to catch fire rather quickly.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Hands shaking, Sydney looked at Jack for directions, but he seemed to be in a state of shock as well.

"You damn kids! Keep the noise down or I'm calling the cops!" Mr. Davis, a crotchety old neighbor yelled out his window from a few houses down, apparently not being able to see the inferno taking place in his fellow neighbor's yard.

"Get the hose!" Jack yelled at Sydney who finally managed to unfreeze her legs and race towards their garden hose. The neighbors, whose lawn was now on fire, had been out of town, luckily for the two Mercers, and hopefully they wouldn't be coming home to a house burnt down too.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Jack demanded now from across the street as he used The Thompson's hose, which was luckily on the side of the lawn that hadn't caught fire yet. Quickly turning the water on full blast, Sydney dragged the hose as far as it would go in order to try and help subdue the fire. The rocket had thankfully stopped and now sat silent, as the flames now battled the water.

They had come close to fully stopping the fire when faint sirens of either the police or fire department could be heard a few blocks away. Jack quickly ran over to turn off his hose as he yelled to Sydney, "Run!"

"What?" She questioned confused.

"Run!" He commanded once more as she followed his lead, turning off her water and following Jack towards the back alley, jogging to keep up with him.

The pair escaped through the alley as the sirens got closer to the house, neither stopped running until they were a safe distance away from the incident.

Sydney slowed to a walk, trying to catch her breath as Jack did the same. "That was fucking insane." She said as she watched Jack light another cigarette for himself. Her heart still pounding from what had just taken place, Sydney reached up, grabbing the cigarette from his mouth and took a long drag before exhaling and handing it back to Jack. "I thought cigarettes were gross." Jack mocked as he took it and placed it back in his mouth.

"Yea…Well, I almost just had a heart attack." Sydney replied, hoping the nicotine would calm her down. "Yeah, I know what ya mean." Jack mumbled, fully in agreement.

"So what's the plan?" Sydney asked as Jack responded, "We go to the arcade or something for a few hours until we know Ma and everyone else is back home. We tell 'em we've been gone all day, and we don't get in trouble."

What a relief it was to have masterminds for brothers. They always had a backup plan for when their real plans went to shit. And for Jack and Syd, their plan had gone from fun to fucked in about 5 seconds.

"Ok…sounds good." Sydney tried to sound reassured that they wouldn't be suspect to the fire, and Jack must have noticed her skepticism because he added, "As long as _you_ don't screw it up and open your mouth."

Sydney shot her brother an appalled look at his lack of confidence in her. "Hell, I'm the best liar out of the five of us. You don't have to worry about me."

Jack raised an eyebrow at the comment, he himself now the one to be skeptical. "I'm pretty sure you suck at lying, so just don't make eye contact with Ma…or Bobby. Actually, just let me do all the talking."

Now offended by the comment, Sydney scowled at him as the pair made it to the arcade, "This whole thing was your fault anyways! You're the one who bought the stupid rocket…and lit it too! I got nothing to do with this." She walked slightly ahead of him, not expecting the hard slap upside the head she received. The distribution of physical violence was usually reserved for Bobby or Angel, so it came as a surprise when she turned around, rubbing her now sore head to see Jack, arms crossed, glaring at her.

"Like hell if you think you're pinning this whole thing on me. Besides, if you just stick to the plan, no one is gunna find out." Jack told her definitely as Sydney nodded mumbling, "Fine, let's just go play some pinball."

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The pair waited a few hours until they started heading home, confident that they had been gone long enough to avoid any type of suspicion. When they turned onto their block, they saw Ma's car in the driveway which was reassuring, but even more so, that there was no police cars or fire trucks around. A little less reassuring however, was the fact that half of the neighbor's lawn was black, the grass completely scorched.

"Where have you two been? You better wash up, I'm just about to put dinner on the table." Jack and Sydney had been greeted by Evelyn as soon as they walked inside the house. She didn't seem angry or suspicious…a very good sign. Nodding, the two did as they were told before heading to the table to sit in their usual seats.

"We just went to the arcade for awhile." Jack answered his mother's previous question as Bobby and Angel joined them at the table.

"So, what the hell happened over at the Thompson's place?" Bobby inquired as he started filling his plate. Both Jack and Sydney instantly froze before exchanging a wide-eyed look. Before either could say anything, Angel spoke up, "Yeah, when I got home there was some fire trucks just leaving and their lawn was burnt to shit."

"Apparently some kids lit their lawn on fire. Thank goodness it was put out before the whole house burnt down." Evelyn spoke in, the disappointment evident in her voice.

"Dumb little shits if you ask me." Bobby put in his opinion as Sydney decided to speak up, "It was probably just an accident." She flinched slightly as Jack discreetly kicked her from under the table before both exchanged a glare to one another.

"Not in this neighborhood it ain't no accident." Angel commented, a mouth full of food as Evelyn scolded, "Angel, swallow your food before you speak." Angel nodded as she continued with a sigh, "Whatever it was, there isn't any excuse for that. Kids these days just seem to be getting worse and worse." She shook her head in disappointment before placing a gentle hand on Sydney's arm, "I'm just glad you all aren't _that_ bad." She spoke with a chuckle as Sydney also gave a nervous laugh before looking at Jack.

"Yeah, none of us are _that_ stupid…"

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**Well, hope you liked it! I had a similar experience where we accidently lit a friend's lawn on fire during the 4****th**** a few years ago…but hey, life experiences always make for the best story ideas right? Lol!**

**Thanks again for being patient, and I look forward to all your lovely reviews! Thanks for reading!**


	16. C16: I'm Sick, You Dumbass!

**Your reviews for the last chapter were awesome! It seemed that you all enjoyed it and I'm glad you thought it was funny. I try...Lol ;) And I do apologize for not explaining what the Fourth of July was, for those of you who are outside of the U.S. It's a holiday to celebrate the American independence and people usually get together with friends and family and have barbeques or go camping or have little parties. And there's usually big firework displays in cities that people can go and watch, or they can buy their own smaller fireworks and light them off (depending on what city you live in, there's legal and illegal fireworks. Lol). I hope that kind of clears things up with the last chapter. Next time if there's an American holiday that shows up in my chapter, I'll try and explain it before hand so there isn't any confusion. Thanks for your comments! Enjoy! **

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**Chapter 16: I'm Sick, You Dumbass!**

"Sydney, you need to get up. We're leaving in 20 minutes." Evelyn said gently as she peeked her head inside Sydney's room where Sydney lay in her bed, blankets tightly wrapped up around her.

Sydney groaned, this was the second time this morning that her mom tried to get her out of bed to get ready for school, but Sydney had no intention of going, "I don't feel good." She whined, draping one arm across her upset stomach as she let out a cough, feeling her throat also sore.

Sighing, Evelyn stepped into Sydney's room, standing over her bed with hands on her hips, giving her daughter an unconvinced look, "You're not gunna pull that stunt today. C'mon, we need to get going." Evelyn told her definitely, patting Syd's leg as an attempt to hurry her up.

"I'm serious this time!" Sydney continued to plea her case before breaking out into a fit of coughs. Once the coughing died down she continued, "I'm not lying!"

She couldn't really blame her Ma for not believing her story about being sick. Each of the Mercer kids throughout the years had been masters at making excuses for not being able to go to school; Sydney's specialty and excuse-of-choice was every now and then being "sick" and therefore getting out of school for a day or two and Ma even calling the school and excusing the absence. Sure, any of them could just skip certain classes and play hooky, but that always meant a phone call to home from the school at the end of the day, resulting in Ma finding out. So having her excuse the absence on account of a fake illness she believed to be real was always the better and more full-proof plan. After all, playing hooky was considered an art-form around here.

Unfortunately for the siblings, Ma wasn't stupid and it didn't take long for her to catch on to each of their antics. Even more unfortunate was the fact that Sydney really did feel like crap today and was in no shape to head off to a six-hour day of school…So much for crying wolf.

"Sydney..." Evelyn replied warningly to her difficult daughter, not having the time to listen to her youngest's most notorious school-skipping charade.

"I need to get to work and you need to get your butt to school." She continued, hands still on her hips, not buying into the story this time.

Before she could open her mouth to defend herself, Sydney broke into another fit of coughing before attempting to take a breath through her nose, only to find it completely stuffed up. Now quieted back down from her last hacking attack, Sydney looked up at her mom, making sure to give her the most pathetic, pleading, puppy-dog eyes.

Letting out another sigh, Evelyn touched her hand to Sydney's forehead to feel her temperature. "Well, your forehead is burning up…" Evelyn stated, more so to try and convince herself that maybe Sydney was actually sick this time.

"See...?" Sydney asked before coughing once more, "I need to stay home..."

Checking her head one more time, Evelyn finally gave in, "Alright. But you're staying in bed and not leaving this house. Understood?" Evelyn asked her sternly as Sydney nodded in agreement. Evelyn pulled the blanket up further, tucking in her daughter a little better as she continued, "There should be some soup in the pantry and I'll bring home some cough medicine when I get off work." Sydney gave her mother an appreciative smile. What good was it to be the only daughter and baby of the family if you didn't take advantage of being coddled and loved by your mother in your time of need?

Evelyn gave Sydney a kiss on the forehead and told her to feel better before having to head off to work. _Oh yes, life was good_.

Sydney snuggled in her bed as she heard Evelyn's voice talking to Bobby downstairs, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying before the front door opened and closed, and Evelyn's car started up before pulling out of the driveway.

Just as Sydney was about to fall back asleep, her bedroom door burst open and the covers ripped away from her body. She let out a groan of protest as the cold hit her body and Bobby spoke, "Get up, you're going to school." He told her matter-of-factly as Sydney scowled, eyes still closed as she tried to fall back asleep even with the annoyance standing over her.

"Nuh uh. Mom said I could stay. I'm sick." She let out a little cough as if it was enough to prove her point, but Bobby wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, well Ma can be a push-over sometimes, but I'm not stupid." He replied annoyed as Sydney held in a snicker, "That's debatable...OW!" Her hand immediately grabbed her now sore arm, courtesy of a punch given to her by the Michigan Mauler.

"Get up, smartass. You ain't missing no more school by pulling your '_I'm sick_' bullshit." Bobby told her, mocking his sister's voice at the words 'I'm sick' as Sydney mentally rolled her eyes. Leave it to Bobby to be a total hypocrite. There was no way she had missed more school than he probably had. At least she actually came up with good excuses whereas he'd just skip without giving a shit. Now he had gotten older and had to ruin the fun…too bad this time her excuse was legit and she actually was sick. And of course he had waited until Ma had left to come in and be an ass about it.

By this time, Sydney had her pillow over her head to try and drown out Bobby's nagging, so her words came out in a slight muffle, "Seriously, I'm sick. I'm not going to school, so piss the fuck off!"

That earned her another punch to the arm, on the same spot as before; _great_, now the bruise was going to be twice as big. "Knock it off!" She whined, rubbing it to try and regain feeling in her now numb arm.

"I'm driving you to school. I don't care if you're still in your pajamas or not. You've got five minutes." Bobby informed her before walking out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Of course Bobby had to be in control of everything. Didn't he know that he wasn't her dad? He couldn't tell her what to do, especially since Ma had already told her she could do the opposite. Sydney had almost voiced that particular opinion, but her sore arm was already protesting and probably wouldn't like to receive another one of Bobby's forms of physical persuasion.

Groaning, Sydney slowly rolled out of bed, grabbing a pair of her jeans that had been tossed to the floor, as well as a sweatshirt that looked to belong to Jack, and started to change out of her pajamas, knowing full well that Bobby made good on his threats.

After putting her hair up and her shoes on, as well as having another coughing fit, Sydney trudged her way slowly downstairs, really hating life and even more so, hating her oldest brother.

"If I die, it's all your fault." Sydney warned Bobby as she made her way into the living room where he sat as she sniffled and coughed a few times. If only she hadn't been such a good actor the last few dozen times she had pulled the sick card. The idiot Bobby couldn't even tell the difference between her faking sick and her actually being on the verge of dying from coughing up a lung.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine princess." He replied, tossing Sydney her backpack and opened the front door for her to step out first. _Damn_. He was actually thinking and saw through her potential plan. She probably would have just waited until he walked out the door first before shutting it and locking it behind him, giving Sydney enough time to call Ma and complain about the mistreatment she was receiving from Bobby. Sydney sighed, walking past Bobby and out the door first and he snuffed her plan before it could actually take place.

Sydney walked to his car as slow as possible before Bobby let out a grunt of impatience and pushed her along the rest of the way. She made sure to cough on him once the two had finally gotten into the car.

"I'm seriously telling you, I don't feel good." Sydney continued to complain as Bobby was now driving down the road. "Yeah, yeah." He waved her off, "I used to pull that shit all the time. So what's the deal today? You got a test or something? Or some homework you didn't do so you need to skip school for?" Sydney rolled her eyes at her brother's accusations. "No, I need to 'skip' school because I'm about to die!" She over-exaggerated as Bobby's junker of a car rattled and shook as they drove on some potholes. She let out a little moan as Bobby let out a scoff, "Ok drama queen. God, you're worse than La Vida Loca."

"Bobby, pull over." Sydney said suddenly very serious as Bobby eyed her suspiciously. "Seriously..." She continued as Bobby finally listened, pulling the car over to the side of the road. Too bad it was only a second too late because in that moment Sydney bent over, head between her legs and vomited all over the floor of Bobby's baby.

With a look of complete horror on his face, Bobby didn't miss a beat as he let out a string of curses, taking off his seatbelt and quickly getting out of the car. He moved towards the passenger door, pulling it open and then pulling his sister out. "Do that shit outside!"

Sydney obliged, puking once more on the sidewalk as Bobby fussed over his car. "Thanks, I'm fine over here by the way." Sydney said sarcastically, still bent over, hands on her knees in case her stomach tried to rebel once more as she noticed her brother caring more about his car than the fact his baby sister was puking her guts out.

"It's fuckin' everywhere!" Bobby shrieked in horror, ignoring Sydney as he continued on his tirade. She couldn't help but let out a snicker as she heard Bobby dry heaving at either the sight or smell. "It's not fucking funny!" He finally yelled at her as he managed to control his gagging, only making the situation that much funnier.

"I do feel kinda better now though." Sydney mentioned, now that her stomach was empty, it wasn't so sore anymore. "Who the fuck cares! How am I supposed to get this shit out?" Bobby complained once more as Sydney rolled her eyes. His car was already a piece of shit, but for some reason Bobby had a very unnatural love for that car.

"I told you I was about to die! You didn't listen! It's your fault!" Sydney shot back as Bobby stopped fussing over the car for one moment to actually look over at his sister. "Yeah, but couldn't you of puked out the window or something?" Bobby whined very childlike, his hands motioning to the window as his facial expression scrunched up, making him look like he was in pain. If he started crying, Sydney was really going to lose it. Her only regret was not bringing a camera.

"Are you going to take me home now?" Sydney asked impatiently as Bobby stared at the interior of his car, not saying a word for a few moments before walking towards the driver's side and getting in. Sydney followed his lead, getting back into the passenger side, pulling her feet onto the seat so she wouldn't step on the mess she had made. Bobby started up the car, silently, now having the collar of his shirt pulled up over his nose to block out the smell. _It's that bad you big baby._

On the way home, Sydney couldn't tell if Bobby was about to blow his top out of anger, or break down and cry that his baby was now covered in puke. It was a very comical situation, just as long as the latter happened and Bobby didn't freak out on her. Once they made it home, Sydney made her way out of the car and back inside the house, not taking the chance on Bobby's mood.

She lay on the couch, not wanting to have to walk all the way back up the stairs, so she pulled the quilt on her that had been lying on the back of the couch and shut her eyes. Sometime later, Bobby made his way back inside, muttering curses under his breath as he moved into the kitchen, the sound of the sink running told Sydney he was probably washing his hands.

"You're paying to have that cleaned up." Bobby called to her from the kitchen as Sydney scoffed, "It wasn't my fault! You made me get out of bed!"

"Yeah! I made you get out of bed because you were trying to skip school!" Bobby shot back, obviously too angry to make the obvious connection of why she was trying to 'skip' school.

"I'm sick, you dumbass!" Sydney yelled back as Angel came down the stairs in nothing but pajama pants, letting out a groan, "God damn, I'm trying to sleep, what are you two yellin' about now?" Angel complained as Bobby angrily answered, "She just projectile vomited all over inside my fuckin' car!"

Angel let out a snort of laughter as Bobby scowled, "It's not fucking funny!" He yelled before walking out the front door, slamming it shut behind him, most likely to go and make sure his poor car was ok.

"That car was a piece of shit anyways." Angel said, grabbing the remote and moving her legs so he could sit down on the couch and turn on the TV. "That's what I was saying." Sydney mumbled as Angel looked at her with a wide grin. "Nice job." He complimented and the two shared a high-five.

At least someone in this house had a sense of humor.

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**Hope you enjoyed! I had fun writing it! Lol. Please leave a review! They always make my day! :D Thanks for reading!**


	17. C17: The Great Cupcake Catastrophe

**Sorry this took a little while. Summer vacation has surprisingly kept me busy. But I at least wanted to bust out another chapter, so I sat down and started typing. Hope you like! It was from an idea that the reader, Ada requested awhile back in a review. Thanks for the idea! There's quite a bit of cursing…and maybe a stereotypical comment made towards the end. So if you get offended easily, maybe you shouldn't read this chapter. But if you have a sense of humor, please continue on. I assume if you've stuck with me this far, then you enjoy a good laugh. ;) **

**Also, thanks everyone for all the reviews. You rock! **

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**Chapter 17: The Great Cupcake Catastrophe **

Cupcakes sounded so damn good right now, so Sydney decided to make some damn cupcakes. She had managed to get all the ingredients into a big mixing bowl and now was trying to preheat the oven. Making it up to this point was quite a huge feat considering the only person in the house who ever used the oven was Ma. Awhile back, Jack had tried to convince Sydney that he knew how to cook too, but she wasn't listening to any of it, especially after he told her that 'any idiot can cook.' Well, _she_ didn't see herself as someone who had any cooking skills…but she definitely wasn't an idiot…she just wasn't going to admit that to Jack. The conversation had ended with her simply scoffing at him and walking off.

Today however, Ma was at work and Jack was god knows where (like she'd ask for his cooking help anyway), so Sydney was on her own with the cupcake situation. So, turning a few switches on the oven, she successfully set the oven to 450 degrees and went to mix her ingredients.

Taking out the hand-held electric mixer, she plugged it in, put it in the bowl, and turned it on. Not realizing the speed was on way too high, the mixture instantly flew from the bowl, splattering on different areas of the walls, counters, and on Sydney herself.

"Damn it!" She shrieked as she quickly turned off the mixer, taking it out of the bowl. Letting out a groan of frustration, she decided to just stick to using a large spoon in order to mix the remaining cupcake batter.

Once properly mixed and poured into several paper cupcake holders placed on a baking sheet (making only a minimal mess in the process), Sydney popped them into the oven.

With another sigh, she grabbed a dish rag and set to cleaning the mess around the kitchen. She stared with the counters, then moved to the little bit that had fell on the floor, and finally went and cleaned the walls. No one would ever even know. Satisfied with her cleaning skills, Sydney tossed the towel on top of the stove and went upstairs to change her shirt that had also been assaulted with cupcake batter.

She had only been upstairs, what she thought was a few minutes, when a loud, ear-splitting beeping noise was heard throughout the house. "What the hell now?" Sydney muttered to herself, covering her ears from the noise of the smoke alarm going off as she quickly made her way back downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Holy shit fuck!" She shrieked at the sight before her. The dish towel, which she had unceremoniously thrown on top of the stove, had caught fire as smoke filled the kitchen. Ok, so maybe she had somehow accidently turned one of the stove burners on when she was trying to preheat the oven…Simply mistake; could happen to anyone right?

"Damn it, fuck, damn it, shit...Uh..." She quickly let out a string of curses as she looked around the kitchen frantically.

Running over to the kitchen sink, she grabbed the sprayer, turned on the faucet, and aimed for the burning dish rag. The stream of water helped a little, but wasn't doing the job fast enough. Putting down the sprayer, Sydney went to the cabinet and grabbed the biggest cup she could find, filling it with water from the faucet.

Once it was completely full, Sydney threw the water onto the towel, getting it all over the top of the stove, the floor, and countertops, adding to the water mess that had already been made from the sprayer. Looking past that fact for the time being, Sydney let out a long sigh of relief because the towel was officially not on fire anymore and all that remained was a very dark, and very burnt dish rag…if you could even call it that anymore.

Grabbing a spatula from the drawer, Sydney scooped up the burnt pieces left over and threw them into the sink, turning on the faucet to saturate it once more, just to make sure.

After a few minutes, the smoke detector finally quieted down as the dust settled...well, as the smoked settled in her case, and all that was left was a water mess and a black ash pile sitting on the stove. Sydney turned the knob for the oven burner off and allowed herself to breathe another sigh of relief.

She was never going to live this down if anyone in her family found out. They probably wouldn't even let her set foot in the kitchen again after almost burning the whole house down. At least this experience proved Jack wrong...Not _every _idiot can cook...

With all the commotion, Sydney almost completely forgot about the cupcakes. Quickly moving back over to the stove, she opened it up, only to be met with a face full of smoke.

"Ah...son of a bitch..." Sydney whined. She thought that burning smell was only from the dish towel catching fire...Smoke clearing, she could see the cupcakes almost black, a nice charcoal color, only frustrating her further.

Putting on a pair of oven-mitts and turning the oven completely off, Sydney grabbed the burnt cupcakes out of the oven and sort of tossed them onto the counter. What a disaster. Opening the kitchen window and grabbing a fresh dish towel, Sydney tried to clear the smoke out of the house before the fire alarm went off again.

It wasn't but a moment later when the back door of the house opened and in stepped a very shocked and taken aback Jerry. At the sight before him, he froze mid-step, eyes wide and mouth hanging agape as he slowly took in the mess before landing his eyes on his sister, who also froze what she was doing and an innocent smile crept onto her face.

There was a long, drawn out silence that occurred before Sydney spoke, a cheery tone in her voice despite her brother being stunned. "Hey Jerry..." She began as if she hadn't seen him in a very long time, "Now don't freak out or anything. It's not nearly as bad as it looks..." She continued, hoping her cheerful tone would rub off on her brother.

"So, there really isn't any need to tell anyone about any of this because it's not that bad and I'm-"

She was cut off by Jerry who didn't seem to register anything she had just said because his tone of voice matched his shocked expression, "What'd you do to Ma's kitchen!" Seriously, if he got his eyes any wider, they'd pop out of his head...

"Didn't you hear what I said? It really isn't that bad-" Sydney tried to defend herself when a new voice entered the mix, "What the hell happened here?"

Sydney turned around to find Angel and Sofi both enter the kitchen, their faces just as shocked as Jerry's. Really, they were blowing this way out of proportion. And why is it that they both had to come home at the same exact time?

"Seriously! It's not that bad!" Sydney shrieked, now getting frustrated at her brother's quickness to freak out.

"You destroyed the kitchen!" Angel retorted back as Sofi stood next to him, shaking her head in disbelief as she surveyed the kitchen. "I didn't destroy anything! Besides, it was much worse before I cleaned up the cupcake batter and put out the fire. I can clean this up! No one will ever have to know..." Sydney trailed off, hoping that was a hint to her brothers to keep quiet about it. Knowing them, however, that wasn't going to happen.

"Girl, there is something seriously wrong with you." Jerry stated as he walked past her to leave the kitchen. Before doing so, he turned to face her one more time, "You better have this whole place cleaned up. You got me?" Jerry told her as Sydney nodded, an annoyed look on her face. "And uh, don't touch the stove ever again." He added before exiting as Sydney rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah..."

"You really are an idiot. Dropped on your head one too many times or something..." Angel muttered, shaking his head as he turned to leave as well. No doubt to come up with a whole list-full of insults or jokes to make fun of her with. He stopped and waited a moment for Sofi.

Sofi remained, hand on her hip and an unamused look on her face. Sydney waited for the inevitable insult but was only met with Sofi muttering incoherently to herself in Spanish as she turned to leave as well.

"Hey, uh...Sofi?" Sydney called after her as she turned to face Sydney. "Do you think you could help me clean this up since you...you know...you're good at cleaning stuff because you're a-" Sydney's statement was interrupted with a hard smack upside her head courtesy of Angel.

"I was going to say girl!" Sydney winced as she rubbed the back of her head as Angel glared threateningly down at his little sister. "She's good at cleaning because she's a girl! I'm a girl, she's a girl, we could have worked together!" Sydney continued to defend herself, but Angel's face told her he wasn't buying it. "What'd you think I was going to say? Because she's a Mexican? Well excuse me, but frankly I'm offended that you would think that I would say such a thing...I mean, maybe if I was doing yard-work and then said that then it would make sense but-OW!" Another, harder, slap upside the head was enough to shut her up.

"Get to cleaning white girl." Angel grumbled as Sydney rubbed her even sorer head, mumbling to herself as she went back into the kitchen to get to the cleaning.

Grabbing the non-burnt dish towel as she started cleaning, Sydney mumbled to herself, "Bobby would've thought it was funny..."

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**Hope it didn't offend too many people...it's all in good fun. Lol, I blame the**_** It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia **_**marathons me and my brother have been having...that show is border-line racist in the upmost funniest ways...lol**

**Hope you enjoyed. You know, I'm really super close to that big 100 reviews...hint hint...you would be amazing if ya clicked the little review button...**


	18. C18: 'Fire Thing' Origins

**Thank you everyone for being so patient with this story. This chapter is from a request from the reader James, who wanted to see my take on the 'gas thing' from the movie. Hope you like!**

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**Chapter 18: 'Fire Thing' Origins**

"Hey! Hey kid!" A male voice called as Sydney walked her way home from school. She decided to ignore it, and keep walking. After all, it wasn't rocket science to know that she wasn't in the best neighborhood. Especially after deciding to take a shortcut home through a vacant lot.

"Mercer!" The sound of her name made her turn around. "Come here." He told her as Sydney recognized the guy as someone who sometimes came over to the house looking for Bobby. The two would go up to Bobby's room, and a few minutes later, the guy would come out and leave.

Sydney knew that not everything that her brothers did was exactly legal; she just didn't know _what_ they did. And it wasn't for lack of trying either. Anytime she tried to follow them upstairs, Bobby would tell her to 'go the fuck away' and then shut the door.

When she brought up the fact that Bobby was probably giving handies in his room to other guys, it earned her some hysterical laughs from Angel and a hard slap to the back of her head from Bobby.

"What?" Sydney asked skeptically as she walked over to the guy who was leaning against the chain link fence, cigarette in mouth. He was a few years older than her, remembering that he had been a senior at her school a year earlier; whether he graduated or not could be open for debate as he stood in baggie jeans and a dark sweatshirt, the hood pulled over his head.

The guy took a long drag from his cigarette before tossing it away. Sydney watched it fall to the ground, keeping the smartass 'Smokey the Bear' speech to herself as it landed by a pile of trash.

He pushed himself from the fence, taking a few steps closer to her before answering, "Your brother owes me some money." He told her matter-of-factly as Sydney gave him an unamused look before turning back around to leave, "Take it up with him, I'm not his accountant."

She didn't make it very far as he grabbed her backpack and yanked her back, the fence stopping her fall. "Is your whole family full of fucking smartasses?" He asked with a scowl, but Sydney couldn't help but smirk; the guy had a point.

"It depends, how many of my brother's asses have you checked out?" She couldn't help it if she didn't exactly have a word filter between her brain and mouth. The guy pushed her against the fence, his hands gripping the front of her sweatshirt as he glared down at her. "Yeah, you're real cute," He snarled, bringing her forward a bit before slamming her back to the fence, "We'll see how cute you are after I-" Sydney cut him off mid-sentence by spitting in his face, the initial surprise making the guy loosen his grip enough for Sydney to duck down and out of his grasp.

She heard him cursing behind her as she took off running, hearing his footsteps quickly take off after her.

Him being taller with longer legs, it gave him the advantage, so it didn't take long before he caught up with her, grabbing a fistful of her hair. She let out a yelp before being spun around, a hard fist connecting with the side of her face. The force would have definitely sent her to the ground if he wasn't holding her hair. Even so, it made her stumble a few steps and made her vision a little fuzzy.

"Now, you're gunna be a good girl and tell your brother that he better pay me…got that?" He told her aggressively as Sydney felt her cheek already start to bruise. Fuckin' pussy didn't have the balls to confront Bobby himself. "Got that?" He demanded a little more forcefully, giving her a little shake.

Sydney didn't hesitate before bringing her knee up hard against his lower half. The action made him immediately lose his grip on her as he fell to his knees…Ok, so maybe he did have balls after all. Sydney smirked in satisfaction to herself as she took off once more.

She had finally made it back to her house without any more troubles, so she pulled on her hood to try and hide her face which was probably black and blue by now, and walked inside. Making a beeline for the stairs, she had wanted to make it to her room without anyone noticing. Knowing Bobby would make a big deal if he found out what happened, she decided to try and maybe see what make-up would do for the bruise so he wouldn't find out. After all, she took care of the situation, there was no need for Bobby to go to jail for trying to kill a guy.

Going up the stairs she moved, without a word, out of the way of Jack who was coming down. The lack of any acknowledgment or annoying comment from his sister made Jack stop and turn to question it, "What happened with you?" He asked skeptically as Sydney continued walking, not turning to look at him, "Nothing, I'm fine. Just got a lot of homework to finish…"

At the comment, Jack knew something was up. Sydney never was one to talk about 'having a lot of homework to finish.' It was usually Ma who had to interrogate Sydney about her schoolwork. So naturally, Jack followed her back up the stairs and as Sydney tried to close her bedroom door on him, he caught a glimpse of her face.

"Woah, what the hell happened there?" He asked, forcing himself into her room as Sydney rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Nothing, just got in a fight at school. No biggie." She shrugged as Jack narrowed his eyes skeptically, "The school didn't call about it." He countered as Sydney scowled, "You're starting to sound like Ma." She looked at herself in her mirror, cringing a little at the sight of the large bruise on her cheek. "It's not as bad as it looks…" She commented to Jack, "You should see the other guy." She grinned as she turned back to Jack. He, however, didn't return the smile.

"Wait, it was a guy who did that?"

Sydney groaned…_here we go_.

''''''''''''''''

After a lot of annoying persistence from Jack, Sydney had to finally tell him the story.

"I'm gunna tell Bobby." Jack concluded as Sydney shook her head, "No! It's fine. I took care of it."

Jack looked unconvinced, "He's going to find out about it…" He tried to reason as Sydney shook her head again, "Not if you don't tell him!" She countered as Jack raised an eyebrow, "So he's not going to notice the big shiner on your face? You're not going to be able to cover that up." Jack replied, seemingly already knowing her plan.

Sydney huffed in defeat, "Fine…you can tell him…" Jack nodded before leaving her room. Sydney went and sat on her bed, knowing that in a few minutes Bobby would burst in to see things for himself.

And…sure enough, Bobby came through the door, an angry gleam in his eye as his gaze landed on Sydney. "Who the hell did that!" He yelled, pointing to her face. She knew he wasn't exactly pissed at her, but that he simply wasn't one to be able to control his anger. Yelling was his common way to express his rage…punching a few holes in the wall was the next step.

"Didn't Jack tell you the story?" She asked in a bored tone, not particularly wanting to repeat the same story twice in a row. Angel had followed Bobby in, looking as equally pissed.

"He told me the fucking story! He didn't tell me who did it!" Bobby continued as Sydney rolled her eyes. He was clenching and unclenching his fists; she knew as soon as she said a name, he would be out the door and ready to raise some hell…she should be flattered.

Initially, Syd had not intended to tell Bobby who the guy was, but after a very threatening look and a few intimidating steps closer towards her from him, Sydney described the guy.

"That's probably that Carlos guy!" Angel interjected after hearing her description. Bobby nodded in agreement, his permanent scowl deepening. "You're just going to give yourself more forehead wrinkles thinking like that." Sydney commented, but only got an annoyed look from Bobby in response before him and Angel left the room.

"Wait, that's it?" Sydney called out in confusion before getting off the bed and following them. When she stepped into Bobby's room, he was bent down in front of the small safe that was in his closet. His wide frame blocking her view until he stood up and she saw him loading a handgun before stuffing it in the back waistband of his pants.

"Woah, where'd you get a gun?" She asked in surprise; ok, so she shouldn't have been so surprised, but it was one thing to _think_ your brother carried a gun, and another thing to actually see it up close.

"This is Detroit." Angel said from behind her as he stepped into the room, tucking away his own gun as he gave Sydney an 'are-you-stupid' kind of look. "You too?" She asked shocked at the fact Angel had one as well.

"You got a plan?" Angel had ignored her, asking Bobby instead. Bobby nodded before shouting, "Jack! Get the gas can from the garage!"

When mumbles of protest from Jack were heard, Bobby added, "NOW!"

"What are you going to do with a gas can? Actually, what are you going to do with the guns? Look, it's not that big of a deal, I took care of things. And look—" She stopped momentarily, touching her bruised cheek, holding back a wince, "it doesn't even hurt anymore."

Bobby and Angel pushed past her, clearly nothing she could say would change their minds. _They are gunna be soo busted…_She pictured the FBI and SWAT rounding them up and taking them all away.

Sydney followed her two brothers downstairs, her questions falling onto deaf ears as the trio made it outside before Angel turned and stopped her, "Get back inside, you ain't going."

"Ha, that's funny. Of course I'm going." Sydney scoffed as Bobby added, "He's right, you're staying here."

Sydney's mouth dropped and her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, "That's bullshit!"

Jack came around the corner of the house, gas can in hand, before putting in his own two cents, "You might as well just let her come…"

Sydney smiled in victory and seeing that Angel and Bobby were about to protest, added, "I took a punch for you! You gotta let me come!"

Eventually, Angel and Bobby gave in and the four of them were on their way to the guy named Carlos' house.

It didn't take very long before they pulled into an apartment complex parking lot, Bobby shutting off the car before looking at Angel, "You ready?" Angel nodded, getting out of the car before Bobby turned to the backseat, "You…" He pointed to Sydney, "are staying in the fuckin' car, got me?...Jackie, grab the gas can." The look on Bobby's face told Sydney that it wasn't a time to argue with him, so she kept quiet while the boys got out of the car and started to head off towards one of the apartments.

She waited several minutes, bored from just sitting in the car and missing all the action. So finally, she took off her seatbelt and got out of the car, "Like I'm staying behind." She whispered to herself as she sprinted to follow in the direction they had gone.

It wasn't very hard to find the right apartment, being as only one had shouting coming from the inside, and a door slightly ajar after being kicked in.

Deciding it was best to first peek inside, Sydney looked in and saw that sure enough, her brothers had found the right place. Looking through the crack of the opening on the door, she saw the guy who had punched her, lying flat on the floor, a purple bruise now forming over his eye as Bobby stood over him, one of his feet pressing hard against the man's chest as he and Angel pointed guns at him.

Smelling gas, Sydney saw Jack standing by Angel, cigarette in his mouth with a satisfied smirk on his face as he held the gas can at his side, the guy lying on the floor looking like he had been dowsed in the liquid.

"Ok! Whatever man! I'm fuckin' sorry! Just don't fucking do this! Please!" The man tried to plead to her brothers as he eyed Jack's cigarette nervously.

"You jump my little sister and then expect no fuckin' consequences!" Bobby shouted down at him, grabbing Jack's cigarette out of his mouth and holding it threateningly over Carlos.

"I didn't jump her! I just wanted my money! C'mon man! Don't do this!" It was clear he was on the verge of tears. Sydney licked her lips nervously from the other side of the door. She had thought she knew her brothers well, but now she wasn't so sure. Were they capable of murder? They kept her in the dark for the most part of their 'illegal' activities, but she had never even thought it could involve killing a guy.

Bobby had smirked at the guy's pleas. "I don't know, Angel, what do you think?" Bobby asked sarcastically, clearly messing with the guy. Angel gave a smirk of his own, "I think this fucker needs to be taught a lesson." He said, his voice holding nothing but seriousness.

Giving a slight laugh, Bobby took a long drag of the cigarette before blowing it out on the guy's face, "Please, Bobby, seriously! Don't do this!" He pleaded once more as Bobby and Angel chuckled, Jack now standing a little off to the side, shifting his weight a little uncomfortably.

"Bobby, don't!" Sydney finally made her presence known, pushing her way into the apartment as her three brothers whirled around to face her, Angel and Bobby keeping their guns pointed at Carlos.

"God damn it! I told you to stay in the fucking car!" Bobby shouted angrily at her, making Sydney flinch. Swallowing, Sydney mumbled back, not making eye contact with him, "It's not worth it…" She nodded to Carlos on the ground, before looking to Angel and Jack for help.

"Jack, take her back to the car." Bobby ordered as Jack nodded, moving towards his sister. "And next time I say she's not coming with us, then she ain't fuckin' coming!" Bobby shouted towards Jack who put a gentle hand on Sydney's back, leading her out of the apartment.

Sydney remained silent as Jack led her back to the car. Once back inside, Sydney sat arms crossed, glaring at the seat in front of her. Jack sighed next to her, "He just doesn't want you to see stuff like that." He reasoned gently as Sydney bitterly rolled her eyes. No, apparently she didn't know her brothers very well at all.

"Are they gunna kill him?" She whispered finally after a few silent moments, worried that she was the reason why someone was getting killed. She didn't look, but knew Jack had shaken his head, "No, they just wanted to scare him a bit, that's all. They aren't going to kill him." He tried to reassure her, but Sydney wasn't fully convinced.

The pair had remained silent, Sydney still glaring at the back of the seat even as Bobby and Angel got back into the car. The whole car ride back remained the same, none of the siblings saying a word to one another; Sydney did find herself one time giving the back of Bobby's seat a good kick, but other than that, didn't acknowledge him any further.

Pulling into the driveway, Bobby shut off the car as Angel went to get out, "Jackie lets go." He told Jack who took the hint and got out, leaving Bobby and Sydney alone in the car. Bobby waited a few minutes before speaking, looking at Sydney in the rearview mirror, "Look, now you can see why I didn't want you to come; you don't need to be seeing that kind of-"

Sydney interrupted him, not meeting his gaze through the mirror, "Did you kill him?" She mumbled bitterly as Bobby sighed, running a hand through his hair before replying, "No we didn't kill him…He won't be walking right for a while, but we didn't kill him." Bobby explained in his version of comforting words.

Sydney felt somewhat relieved, but decided to continue the silent treatment. Finally, Bobby sighed in frustration and turned around towards her, "Look, you don't have to worry about nothing. No one is gunna bother you." He said trying to keep his tone soft, but comforting people was never his strong point. At least he figured he should get points for trying.

"You didn't need to go and do all of that to him…" Sydney mumbled again, Bobby almost not catching her words because they were so quiet.

"Look at me." He told her, his words demanding as Sydney finally looked at him, scowl still on her face. When Bobby spoke again, he found his tone to be much softer, "You're my family…hell, you're my little sister for fuck sakes. I gotta protect ya."

Sydney rolled her eyes before looking away from him again, "Whatever…" She whispered, almost regretting her tone.

Bobby ignored her action as he continued, "You know, he told me how you kicked him in the balls. Gotta give you props for that." Bobby said with a slight laugh in his voice as Sydney tried to hold back a smile.

The car grew silent for a moment and Bobby almost got out with a sigh, knowing how stubborn his sister could be. Before he could leave, Sydney replied, "I told you I took care it…" When he looked back at her, there was a slight smile on her face as he let out a chuckle.

"C'mon, let's get inside." He said gently, opening the door and stepping out. Sydney followed suit, taking off her seatbelt and getting out. She had attempted to walk towards the house, but an arm caught her, wrapping itself around her shoulders and pulling her back to Bobby's side,

"C'mere you little shit." He laughed, giving her an affectionate ruffle of the hair.

Sydney couldn't help but let out a small laugh of her own, giving him a playful shove as the pair made their way back to the house.

_Yeah, things were definitely back to normal…_

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Did ya like? A little softer side seen here in the last bit. Hope it was alright?

And jeez, when I was writing this, 'Good Vibrations' came up on my shuffle…oh Marky Mark, how appropriate. And no, I am not ashamed that that song is on my ipod…hahahaaa

Anywho, leave a review and let me know what ya thought! Thanks!


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